The Star of Terra
by Gauge Mnemosyne
Summary: Calista Shepard's story through Mass Effect. Focusing largely on her relationship with the crew and her interactions with a certain asari archaeologist, along with the interactions her crew has with each other. Rated M for language and violence.
1. You and Whose Army?

**I  
You and Whose Army?  
**

* * *

"Well, would you just look at that."

Lieutenant Commander Calista Marie Shepard was taking in the sight in front of her in barely disguised awe. The SSV Normandy's experimental drive core was spinning away, casting blue light over the engineering deck. Shepard wasn't the most technologically minded of people, even though she adored ships, but anyone in their right mind would be amazed at this sight were they to stand before it. She had heard talk about this huge 'engine' of the ship, and how it allowed for the Normandy to remain in stealth when it wasn't travelling at faster-than-light speed, and after being on board for a fair few hours, she had finally made the trip to engineering to see it. It was awe-inspiring.

She couldn't believe her luck that this was now her ship, or as close to it being her ship as she'd ever gotten to in her career. Though she was itching to get back to marine duty, some part of her was glad for the almost extended rest being transferred to the Normandy afforded her. She felt she'd barely sat down for 6 years, nearly 7 actually, since the Skyllian Blitz.

Ever since then, her life had flown past. The weeks in recovery immediately after were the only part that seemed to drag on. After that she gained her N7 vocational code which involved a relatively brief stay, for the first time in her life, on Earth. She'd been promoted a couple of times, and bounced around Systems Alliance space, but now she was on the Normandy as its Executive Officer, Anderson finally being able to fulfil his promise of placing her as his second-in-command. She hid it from the new faces of the crew around her, but she was incredibly excited, not only because she was on the most beautiful and advanced ship in the galaxy, but because this type of ship wasn't going to be wasted on routine patrols or any of the like, it was going to get the best assignments and missions. It was going to kick some ass.

"She's a wonder, isn't she?" A voice right next to Shepard's broke her from her reverie. She had to blink to get the lingering impression the drive core had left on her retinas before she took in the face of Captain Anderson. He laughed at her blinking. "Yeah, you can't stare at it too long, but you can't look away, either."

"It wasn't that, I was just… blinded by your handsomeness, Captain," Shepard replied with a slight smirk.

"I don't doubt it for a second," Anderson said, laughing. "So, first impressions. What do you think of her? The Normandy, not just the drive core."

"She's amazing, sir. It doesn't seem like all this should fit inside."

"Ah, she was built with deception in mind. Seems appropriate, doesn't it?"

"Indeed, sir," Shepard said, her focus now back on the core, while the Captain's stayed on her for a small moment.

"I need you to get suited up, Shepard. We'll be going through the Arcturus Prime relay soon on the way to Eden Prime," Anderson said, now the model of officialdom.

"Aye, aye, Captain," Shepard said, turning around and making for the door to the cargo bay. Anderson stood watching the core for a while, deep in thought.

* * *

"Take a photo, Private," Shepard said loudly across the cargo bay as she got changed. The nervous young man, Fredricks she thought his name was, flinched in surprise. The commander hadn't even looked at him when she admonished him for watching, and he disappeared quickly into the engineering section. There was someone else watching, too, but Shepard wasn't quite sure why. The turian Spectre, Nihlus, had appeared from the elevator and merely took one step off before he tucked his hands behind his back and perused Shepard as she started changing into her hard-suit in front of her locker.

When she'd finished and shipped her weapons on her back, she strode past him, nodding her head once in a formal sort of greeting and stepped on the elevator behind him. When the elevator had finally finished its ascent, Shepard made her way to the comm room, intent on calling her mother.

"_This is Commander Shepard_," the voice from the comms terminal called out.

"No, this is Commander Shepard," Calista replied, through a grin.

"_What? Oh! Callie! It's good to hear your voice! How are you, sweetheart?_" Hannah Shepard asked.

"Mom, less of the 'sweethearts' and 'dearies' and what have you, please. I could be on the CIC," Calista said, shaking her head.

_"Just answer the question, girl. Is everything all right?_"

"Yeah, everything's fine, I'm just checking in. We're heading out now, just about to leave Sol on the way to Eden Prime. Not heading into anything dangerous, but… you know, not sure when I'll be able to get in touch again."

"_Oh, okay._"

"You good?"

"_Yeah, can't complain. Well, I can, but I don't want to bore you. How's the ship?_"

"Amazing, Mom. You should see her. I can't describe it. I hope I can show you around one day."

"_I'm sure you'll be able to._"

Just then, the pilot's voice chimed in over the Normandy's announcement system, telling the crew they were coming up to the mass relay.

"Mom, I've gotta go. We're going through the relay now. I'll speak to you soon. Love you."

"_Okay, _sweetheart_. Speak soon, love you, too._"

After one final farewell, Shepard knocked the comms off and quickly left the room.

* * *

"Aye, aye, Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way," the pilot of the Normandy said through the comms from his seat on the bridge of the ship. They had passed through the relay with no fuss.

"He's already here, Lieutenant," Anderson replied sternly back through the comms. The pilot, Jeff 'Joker' Moreau, shook his head. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing."

"You get that, Commander?" Joker asked.

"I got it. Dammit, Moreau. Anderson was in a good mood earlier," Shepard replied, standing just behind Joker's chair.

"I've never seen him in a good mood," Joker said, in a disbelieving tone.

"He normally is when he's not around you, Joker," Kaidan Alenko chimed in from his position in the co-pilot's seat. Shepard chuckled to herself and turned around.

As Shepard walked down the aisle from the bridge to the CIC, Joker cocked his head around the back of his chair and watched her. "Alenko, what do you think about our new commander?"

"Shepard? I don't know. I've not had much chance to talk to her yet," Alenko replied, not even turning his head, still busy with the readout in front of him.

"You don't have to have talked to her. I mean, just look!"

"Joker, I know what you meant and I'm not dignifying it with a relevant response."

Joker was still watching Shepard as she spoke with Navigator Pressly. "So is she just not your type or are you… you know?"

"Stop gawking and please stop talking. Come on, you've got work to do."

Joker finally managed to pull his eyes away from Shepard, who was now talking with Dr Chakwas and Corporal Jenkins, and turned back to the helm. "Okay, so seriously now, what do you think of Shepard?"

Alenko eyed Joker for a few seconds before sighing and resigning himself to go along with the conversation the pilot was stubbornly adhering to. "Like I said, I'm not really sure. She seems nice enough."

"Have you heard about her and Elysium?"

"I think just about everyone in the Alliance has. It's probably mostly just rumour, though. Propaganda, that kind of thing. How long ago was it now? 6, 7 years? She was what, 22 years old? I don't want to doubt her, but… it doesn't seem possible."

"Well they don't put a Star of Terra around your neck through hearsay and gossip. I think she's legit, but that's what makes me wonder, what with her and Nihlus here. This isn't just a shakedown, I'm sure of it," Joker said.

"Joker, this is a pretty big thing for the Alliance. Working with the Council and the turians, of course they're gonna send along the best. I've said it before, but you're just being paranoid. Stop worrying," Alenko said, looking at Joker again.

"Hey, I'm not worrying, I just don't like being in the dark."

* * *

To Shepard's surprise, Nihlus was alone in the comm room, he was watching a vid of some kind, which Shepard recognised as a tourism piece for Eden Prime, the world they would shortly be arriving at. As he heard Shepard's footsteps, he turned to her, and told her he'd hoped she would arrive before the Captain, giving them a chance to talk, and that Anderson would be with them soon.

He then moved on to ask Shepard what she knew of Eden Prime, which was little to nothing besides what she was briefed on. She knew it was one of the first colonies outside of Sol, because of that it was a source of pride for the Alliance and that it was very successful and well known for its agriculture. She also knew it was on the borders of the Terminus Systems, and because of that, danger could only ever be a day or two away. Other than that, she had little to no knowledge of it.

It was the pride the Alliance had in the planet that Nihlus was interested in, along with its safety, and he wondered aloud if the Alliance was ready to protect its colonies, if it was ready for what the dangerous galaxy had in store. It came across as rhetoric. Shepard wasn't really sure what to think. It didn't seem Nihlus was merely sceptical of the Alliance, it seemed that Nihlus was sceptical of it _and_ of Shepard herself.

Just then, the doors opened behind Shepard and Anderson came striding in. "I think it's time we told the commander what's really going on."

Shepard had guessed this wasn't a simple shakedown run, that this wasn't just a test for the Normandy's maiden voyage. Anderson told her that the research teams on Eden Prime had discovered a Prothean beacon on the planet, and the Normandy was on its way to pick it up and take it to the Citadel for study. It showed that the Alliance was willing to work with the Council and not just hoard any knowledge the beacon could hold for themselves, and they would be doing so in an Alliance vessel that was developed by human and turian minds. It was incredibly important.

What Shepard would never have guessed, in a million years, was that Nihlus wasn't there simply to supervise the effort, but to evaluate her. He told her she was the Alliance's candidate to become humanity's first Spectre, and this was just the start of her work with Nihlus. His behaviour toward her was suddenly explained.

As if the fates hadn't conspired enough to put pressure on Shepard's shoulders, Joker interrupted the briefing with a transmission from the surface of the planet. It showed soldiers in heavy combat with an enemy of unknown description, and then, just before the feed went dead, an image of large, black, metallic fingers or tendrils wreathed in red lightning dominated the sky.

Whatever it was, it was big and ugly, and though they had no real way of knowing such, it screamed danger and deadliness at them. It was an unknown, and soldiers like Shepard did _not_ like unknowns.

* * *

In the cargo bay, Shepard was speaking to Jenkins and Alenko as they suited up. They were the ground-team she would be in charge of for this mission, and she was giving them a quick brief on the beacon and what she had seen via the transmission from the surface, though it wasn't much.

"All I know is that it's bad," she said, as she finished.

"What do you think, though, ma'am? Slavers? Pirates?" Alenko asked.

"It could be slavers, but I wouldn't have thought pirates would have much interest in Eden Prime," Jenkins replied, clearly agitated. Eden Prime was where he had grown up. He had family down there.

"That was before we discovered the beacon, though," Shepard said.

"I can't see what pirates would want with a Prothean beacon, ma'am," replied Alenko.

"Me neither," Shepard said, her brows knit in thought. "That thing at the end, I've never seen anything like that before. It had to be huge. It was off in the distance, peaking through the clouds. It wasn't anything pirates or slavers would have. It has to be something else entirely, something we're not thinking of. We have to assume that they're here for the beacon, and that kinda shit in the wrong hands could be very bad."

* * *

Eden Prime might very well have been a paradise before this. Even through the red skies the battle on the planet had caused, the lush greenery still shone, as stubborn as Mother Nature intended.

Nihlus had gone on ahead of Shepard and her team. All pretence of her evaluation for Spectre candidacy lost quickly over the increasing importance of the mission and the deterioration of the situation on the planet.

Jenkins hadn't lasted long. Strange floating turrets the likes of which none of them had ever seen tore through his kinetic barriers and put him down before any of them could react. It didn't take long for Shepard to fill two of them with slugs from her M-8 Avenger assault rifle, and for Alenko to smash the remaining one into a rock with his biotics, but the damage had been done.

"God dammit. What the fuck were those things?" Shepard asked Alenko as she scanned the horizon.

"Not a clue, ma'am. Drones of some sort, never seen anything like them," Alenko replied grimly as he removed Jenkins' dog tags and took a few thermal clips from the body in case they were needed. "Ripped right through his shields. Never had a chance."

"Shit." _Well this is going fan-fucking-tastically so far, _Shepard thought to herself. "You good, Alenko?"

"I'm good, ma'am."

"Okay, we'll leave him here for now, we'll make sure he's taken care of once we finish this. Let's stick to cover like white on rice. Watch your back and scan the skies. These things could come from any fucking direction, so stay frosty, Lieutenant."

"Aye, aye, ma'am."

They pushed forward into a lightly wooded area for a while, sticking to the trees and small rock formations taking down a few more of the drones, until Shepard raised a fist to Alenko, motioning for him to halt. She had seen a human figure in between the trees sprinting roughly in their direction. As it drew nearer it became clear it was a woman, a soldier in fact. Shepard, in cover behind a rock outcropping, watched as the woman started sprinting right toward them, two drones on her tail, taking pot shots. Just as the woman drew level with Shepard, the commander grabbed and pulled her into cover, throwing her indelicately to the ground against the rock. The drones sailed past, and went to turn, but struggled with their forward momentum, allowing Shepard and Alenko to take them out in short order.

"Holy shit. Thanks for your help, Commander. I didn't think I was going to make it," the woman said to Shepard a few deep breaths after the drones exploded. She got to her feet with Shepard's help. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212. You the one in charge here, ma'am?"

"That'd be me. Sorry about the bump. You okay?"

"I'm good. Bastards gave me a few scrapes and burns, nothing serious. The others weren't so lucky," she answered, then put her head in her hands.

"Do you know what these things are?"

"I think they're geth," Williams said, almost breathless as she looked back up.

"Geth? Those drones are geth?" Shepard asked, her brow furrowed beneath her helmet.

"It's not just drones, they've got big bipedal units here, too."

"The geth haven't been seen outside the veil in almost 200 years," Alenko piped up with. "Why are they here now?"

"The beacon," Shepard answered. "They sure as shit didn't come to look at those ugly fucking gas bag things. Williams, did you get eyes on that big black… hand… thing?"

"Yes, ma'am, it… it was a ship, must have been a geth dreadnought. It made the most God-awful trumpeting sound I've ever heard, that's when our comms went down. I'm assuming you saw it from our distress call."

"Yeah, couldn't really tell what it was, though. We'll worry about it later. We need to get to the beacon and get it out of here before the geth get hold of it. Do you know where it is, Williams?"

"The dig site is just up ahead, over that hill. It might still be there," Williams said, pointing roughly in the direction she had just come.

Shepard took a moment. "Okay, Williams, you're coming with. Need someone who knows the lay of the land. What's your ammo situation?"

"Not good. Nearly out, ma'am."

"Alenko, fill her up with what you got from Jenkins. This is Staff Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko," said Shepard to Williams, "and I'm Lieutenant Commander Calista Shepard of the SSV Normandy."

"It– it's an honour to meet you, ma'am," Williams said, then nodded at Alenko with a smile as he passed her some thermal clips.

"The honour's all mine, Gunny. All right, now that the bullshitting is done with, let's say we show these synthetic bastards that they fucked with the wrong colony."

"Aye, aye, ma'am. It's time for payback," Williams said, with a slight snarl.

* * *

As they reached the brow of the hill Williams had mentioned, it became obvious the beacon was no longer at the dig site. They looked down into it from prone positions above it. It was a circular chunk taken out of the ground, with freshly dug dirt surrounding the small dais that was, as Williams pointed out, where the beacon once stood. Around the dais were strange, metallic tripods that stood a few feet tall.

"Did they dig those tripod things out with the beacon, Gunny?" Shepard asked.

"I don't think so, ma'am. I've never seen them before."

Just as they were about to stand up and make their way down to the dais, two of the geth bipedal units Williams had referred to before appeared carrying a human male by his arms between them, his form limp, his heels dragging in the dirt. The geth were making strange noises, as if in conversation with each other.

"Not gonna lie, not a fan of this situation right now," Shepard said as she shouldered her rifle and drew out her beloved M-92 Mantis sniper rifle, scoping in on the left-most geth.

"What are they doing?" Alenko asked in a whisper. "Is that guy dead?"

"Can't tell… shit, I can't get a shot." The geth had stopped and stood either side of one of the tripods, the nearest of them with its back to Shepard, and draped the man over it, facing him up. If Shepard were to take the shot from the angle she had, it could go right through the geth and hit the man, and she wasn't certain he was already dead.

The geth had started to walk away, back from where they had come, but Shepard's focus was on the man still draped over the tripod. He started to move, and just as he lifted his head, a large spike suddenly shot upwards from the tripod with a loud crack and a thud, spearing the man through his back and leaving his now lifeless body impaled upon it fifteen feet in the air.

"_What the fuck_?!" Shepard shouted. "Open fire!"

In a split-second the geth nearest to the group's head exploded as it turned to see the commotion, a slug from Shepard's rifle penetrating the unit's single, large and glowing photoreceptor with precision. The second geth fell not long after to sustained fire from both Williams' assault rifle and Alenko's pistol. As soon as firing ceased, Shepard scrambled her way down to the tripod, and was met with the ugly sight of the impaled man slowly sliding down the spire, his blood flowing down it like a grotesque fountain.

"What is this medieval _bullshit_?" Shepard said, her face a grimace of anger and disgust as she gazed upward at the skewered colonist.

"Gotta be some kind of warning," Alenko replied. Williams just stared at the poor man, her face pale.

"Okay, so the beacon isn't here, and we need to stop this shit from happening to any more colonists. Gunny… Williams…" Shepard was trying to get the woman's attention, but she was transfixed on the macabre sight in front of her. "Hey, Williams! I need you in the here and now, soldier. Come on," Shepard added, almost gently.

"S-sorry, ma'am." Williams said, snapping out it. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you tell me where they could have taken the beacon. We follow that path, prevent the geth from going all Vlad happy on more civvies, secure the beacon and make sure the Alliance fleets still have a colony to save when they finally get their asses here."

Just then, Nihlus got in touch, mentioning that he'd meet Shepard at a small spaceport up ahead. "Williams, what can you tell me about a small spaceport near here?" Shepard asked.

"Actually that was where I was going to suggest heading. If they've moved the beacon, it must be there."

"Okay, good. We've got a turian Spectre waiting for us there, name of Nihlus. He came with us on the Normandy. Williams, take point, show us the way."

* * *

The reason for the tripod-spikes became apparent as they left the dig site and headed toward the small spaceport Nihlus had mentioned. At their next sighting of a cluster of tripods, they found even more colonists impaled upon them, but their corpses seemed desiccated and dark, as if burned or left upon them for weeks. As Shepard and her team got close, the spikes withdrew back into their bases, bringing their inhabitants down with them. The carcasses stirred and planted feet on the ground. They were grotesque, barely passing off as human any more. Large blue-lit cables replaced veins beneath their torn, dark flesh, and synthetic blue eyes affixed to their prey. But this particular prey was ready, and it didn't take long, or many shots fired, to dispatch these new and terrifying enemies.

"Put a hole in the head of anything impaled on these things before they have a chance to pull that shit on us again," Shepard ordered her team. "We'll have time enough to dwell on this mess in briefings and therapy sessions once we get the fuck out of here. Let's move."

They managed to find a pair of survivors in a locked prefab building, unhurt but understandably terrified, one even on the verge of a full mental breakdown. Shepard had at first sympathised with the man, before he started blabbering on about the end of days. When he became even more manic and got a bit too close to her for her comfort, she restrained him in a blood choke and laid him gently down on the ground as he passed out, reassuring his partner he was fine but that he'd be out for a while.

When they left the prefab, locking it behind them, they pushed on toward the spaceport, which was thankfully just around the corner. When they got in sight of it, it wasn't the station that had their attention. Instead, the geth dreadnought dominated the sky again, just as it did in the distress call vid on the Normandy. Before Shepard could get a proper look, it started to ascend, parting the red clouds its invasion had caused, and disappearing from view as it exited the planet's atmosphere.

"That fucker was huge," Shepard said, not even trying to hide her amazement and still looking at the space in the sky where it had been. "How did the geth build that thing?"

"Maybe they found the plans in another beacon from somewhere, that's why they're here for this one, ma'am," Alenko conjectured. "They might be planning a full on war with the galaxy."

"Whatever it is, it's not good," Shepard said. "I have a feeling the beacon went up with that ship. We need to make sure, though. We'll push on and–"

"We got contacts, Commander!" Williams interrupted.

The ground ahead of them was a long, rocky and grassy slope that led downward toward the spaceport, but at the bottom stood a dozen or so geth, some of whom were interacting with more of the infernal tripod spikes, which housed even more colonist victims. It only took one geth to spot Shepard and her team before they all started firing at the humans, who quickly jumped behind rocky cover. The geth closest to the tripods made their spikes retract freeing their dead slaves, setting them on Shepard and her team.

"Those reanimated corpses are running right for us, and holy fuck, I can't believe I just said that!" Shepard backed out of cover. "Stay here, I'm going to distract them. When I give the word, start firing on them." She sprinted back the way they had come, out of sight of the geth but in sight of the running cadavers, who zoned in on her once they got to the top of the slope, ignoring Alenko and Williams as they ran past them.

As the last of the husks passed the two waiting humans, Shepard gave the order, jumping into cover and out of the line of friendly fire. Alenko and Williams made quick work of a few of the husks, efficiently popping heads with accurate slugs, allowing Shepard to take out some with little trouble. As Alenko and Williams ceased fire, they watched as Shepard engaged the last husk in close combat. A side kick from her to its stomach sent it flying backwards to the floor, she then followed up with a jump and sent her feet down onto its head, obliterating it. The two watchers looked at each other in surprise.

"That was grim, but oddly satisfying," Shepard shouted over the geth's weapons fire as she reached Alenko and Williams.

The geth were stopping the team from moving forward any more, using suppressing fire on their position to prevent them from even peeking out of cover, let alone advancing toward them.

"Alenko," Shepard shouted. "Can you use your biotics to create a barrier around us as we try to push forward."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good, we just need to push forward a little. Williams, I want you to flank them while I suppress them, and get into an enfilade firing position, catch them unaware. Try to make it so you can line a few up, or at least push them out of cover. Here, take a couple of these grenades, and don't be afraid to use them all. Take the geth nearest to you out first. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," answered Williams, taking the proffered grenades.

"I spotted fourteen of them, but there could be more. When you're not firing, stay in cover and try to keep moving. Alenko, when we get to cover, keep the barrier up while I suppress them and stay in cover, too. Focus on your barrier. Okay. Are we ready?" Alenko and Williams nodded.

"Good luck, Commander," spoke Williams.

"Luck's for losers, Gunny," replied Shepard. "Let's do this, then. Go, go, go!"

It all happened exactly as Shepard had planned. Alenko's barrier protected Shepard while she pushed forward down the slope and fired at the geth, pushing them back into cover. Williams darted low and to her right as soon as she had the chance. She then got side on to the majority of the geth, and put four of them down with her first barrage. Her grenades then took out a few more, before she reloaded and then forced some more geth out of cover, allowing Shepard to hollow them out. After a few short minutes, the last geth fell.

"We're clear, Commander," Williams spoke through her comms after scanning the battlefield.

Shepard peeked up from cover, confirming Williams' statement. "Fuck yeah, Gunny," Shepard said as she strode toward the other woman, holding her free hand up in offer for Williams to take it. "That was perfect," she said as Ashley grabbed her hand. "Good work on that barrier, Alenko."

Alenko was stood off to the side, staring at something on the spaceport platform ahead of him. As he got close enough to it, he realised what it was.

"Nihlus is down!" Alenko shouted, pointing to an inert figure face down on the ground as he ran toward it.

Alenko was right, Nihlus was down, but he was also dead, a fact made patently obvious by the single gunshot wound to the back of his head and the deep blue blood pooled around it.

"It looks like he was executed, probably a pistol from close range. Not enough mess for anything of a higher calibre," Shepard said, crouched down next to Nihlus' corpse.

A sound then came from a stack of crates nearby, and three weapons were instantly trained in its direction.

"We're Alliance soldiers. Come out from behind there slowly or we start firing," Shepard ordered.

"Wait, don't shoot!" A clearly terrified voice came from behind the crates, before a distressed dockworker shuffled into view. He looked haggard, either from being previously overworked and tired or from the stress of being in the middle of a damn war zone. "I'm one of you, I'm human."

He proceeded to explain, after Shepard's questioning, that he was merely hiding and told them that he witnessed Nihlus' death at the hands of another turian named Saren. According to him, Nihlus relaxed when he met his fellow turian, as they seemed to know each other, and so let his guard down. When Nihlus turned his back on him, it allowed Saren to put a slug through the back of his skull.

"Do you know where the Prothean beacon is?" Shepard asked the dockworker.

"If it's anywhere, it'll be over on the other platform. You can take a cargo train to get to it, but that's where Saren went," the dockworker replied.

After warning the man to keep his head down and watch out for the Alliance rescue team, Shepard and the others took the cargo train.

* * *

"It's still here." Shepard was relieved that the beacon still was on the planet. It seemed that instead of merely taking it with them, the geth chose to try and blow the thing up instead, along with the entire colony. The team quickly defused any ordinance they detected, and took out a few geth stragglers. "Normandy, the beacon is secure. Requesting immediate evac from my position."

"Commander, it wasn't doing anything like this when they dug it up," Williams told Shepard. "It's glowing, it looks like someone activated it."

"So, they activated and possibly used it, and then just left it here? Aren't these things supposed to be treasure troves of information? The one on Mars advanced our technology 200 years, and we've barely scraped the surface of what's in it. None of this makes sense. Besides getting the beacon, this whole mission has been FUBAR from the get go," Shepard said, rubbing her temples underneath her helmet.

"Well, at least we can get out of here now, Commander," Williams consoled, as Shepard started forward toward the beacon.

"We might have to–"

As Shepard got close to the beacon, she was pulled up into the air, the beacon humming with energy, its lights brightening. Shepard hovered just in front of it, her arms and legs locked straight and her head pulled back. After only a few seconds, before Alenko and Williams could do anything, the beacon exploded, propelling Shepard backwards, where she hit the ground hard with a loud thud.

"Normandy, this is Alenko! Shepard is down, the beacon did something to her then just exploded. Get the medical team prepped and on standby!" Alenko shouted through his comms as Williams rushed to Shepard, who lay on the ground, unconscious.


	2. Scatterbrain

**II  
Scatterbrain**

* * *

Rent flesh, revealing a maw toothed with metal. Synthetic instruments obscenely wrenched into muscle and sinew, surrounded by thick gore. A mutilated figure, face wreathed in agony. Cityscapes on fire, buildings crumbling down, the dead everywhere. Flashes of an ancient evil. The images are scattered, broken up and incomplete, but it's clear that there is much death and destruction in them.

This isn't a dream.

It's a warning.

* * *

"What the _hell_ happened down there?" Anderson looked apoplectic as he addressed Alenko on the cargo bay. Shepard had just been stretchered up to the med bay, still unconscious.

"The beacon did something to her, sir. Hauled her off her feet and… tortured her or something. She looked like she was having some kind of seizure. Then the beacon just exploded."

"What do you mean it 'hauled her off her feet?'" Anderson asked, his face a mask of anger and confusion.

"She was suspended in mid air right in front of the beacon. She looked like she was in a lot of pain. It was damned scary. I didn't even know beacons could do that."

"As far as we knew, they couldn't. And what were you doing while this was happening?"

"I'm sorry, sir. It all happened so fast, we didn't have the chance to stop it."

Anderson, buried his face in his palm and shook his head. "I didn't mean to accuse you of inaction, Lieutenant, it's just if it weren't for…" He paused for a moment, then looked back up at Alenko. "That was damn fine soldiering down there, son. You four did us proud."

Anderson then turned to Williams. "It's nice to meet you, Gunnery Chief." Williams saluted and it was returned. "I'm having you transferred to the Normandy. We need someone with your skill, but for the time being we may even need your eyewitness testimony."

"Th-thank you, Captain," Williams replied, barely hiding her surprise and delight. "I wish it was under better circumstances."

"We all do, Williams. Go see Serviceman Grieco, the requisitions officer. He'll get you some BDUs and anything else you might need. Come see me in the comms room when you're both squared up for a debrief. I'm going to go and see if I've still got an XO."

* * *

An hour or so later, with the Normandy on its way to the Citadel, Kaidan rejoined Joker on the bridge, dropping himself down heavily in the co-pilot's seat with a huff.

"You okay, Alenko?" Joker asked.

"As good as can be, all things considered. Shepard's okay, still out for the count, though. Just have to wait for her to wake up."

"Huh. 'A simple shakedown run,' they said. Makes you wonder what a _complicated_ shakedown run would be," Joker murmured, then noticed Alenko rubbing his eyes and shaking his head, obviously trying to dispel the tiredness he was feeling. "So. Shepard, then. What's the word?" Joker asked.

"I told you, she's okay. Just unconscious."

"No, I mean, what's she like?"

"Oh. Well… she's got her head screwed on when it comes to tactics and strategy. She certainly knows how to lead. She just… exudes confidence, and that makes you confident in yourself," Alenko answered.

"You starting to believe the hype, then?"

Alenko sniffed in amusement and smiled. "I suppose I am, now that you mention it. I don't think anyone else could have saved that colony, and we were home and dry until that beacon hit her."

"Maybe we'll find out what happened when she wakes up."

"Maybe, but for now we've got other leads. Captain Anderson knows who this 'Saren' is, the one who supposedly murdered Nihlus."

"'Knows of,' or '_knows_ knows?'"

"Well, he wasn't happy to hear the name. I think he knows him personally," Alenko speculated.

Joker watched Alenko for a small moment. "We're still a fair few hours from the Citadel, Kaidan, and that chair isn't as comfortable as a pod. Well, actually it probably is, but I don't want you drooling all over the instruments."

Kaidan chuckled. "Yeah, I think you're right. You gonna be okay on your own?"

"Come on, it's me you're talking about here."

* * *

Ashley Williams was in the mess hall, sitting on a chair alone and away from the table currently being used by a couple of the Normandy's crew. She was in her newly acquired BDUs, nursing a cup of coffee. As excited as she was to be on the Normandy, the strangest and most wondrous Alliance ship she'd ever seen let alone been on, she still felt a little ill at ease. She didn't really know anyone, and as of yet she hadn't been assigned any tasks. The Executive Officer, Shepard, was still unconscious and Captain Anderson was busy preparing a report for the Alliance and the Citadel Council, so for the moment she had nothing to do.

Left to her thoughts, she found herself grieving for her division, her friends she had left behind on Eden Prime. She had learned that the Normandy lost a marine there, too; a young man named Jenkins. His body had been recovered just before they had secured the beacon and now lay in a sealed casket in the cargo bay. Not only did she have survivor's guilt, but she also felt uncomfortable having ostensibly replaced the dead marine, and rather unceremoniously, too.

Still, she couldn't help but feel relieved that she had gotten out alive, that her mother and sisters were not going to be without her, and that she'd get to see them all again. She would be eternally grateful to Shepard for that, she just hoped that the commander would wake up so she could thank her. She hadn't lied to Shepard when she said she didn't think she was going to make it. Now here she was on the Normandy, safe and sound. The coffee in front of her was rather foul, as was the norm for the Alliance, but it was the best cup of coffee she'd ever had.

"Williams? You okay?" Alenko's voice knocked Ashley out of her thoughts and startled her somewhat. "Sorry, didn't mean to sneak up on you," he said as he placed himself into a seat next to the woman.

"No, it's okay. I'm fine. Just a little… bored," she said, not wanting to admit anything more significant. Alenko seemed to understand, and didn't press the issue. "I'm kinda worried about the commander, though."

"Dr Chakwas said she'll be fine. You've seen her in action, she's tough."

"How long have you known her?"

"About a day," Alenko said, smiling. "I got transferred to the Normandy about a week before she did, while we were still in dry-dock, but no one knew she was going to be serving on here. She just turned up out of the blue early yesterday. Scuttlebutt was going wild."

"I'll bet it was," Williams said, returning the smile. They looked at each other for a short moment.

"I err… I was just about to get some shut-eye," Alenko said, almost nervously.

"Oh, well don't let me keep you."

"You're not, it's fine. Have you got somewhere to sleep?"

"Yeah, one of the crew said to just pick an empty pod and jump in."

"Good. You'll get your bearings in time, Williams."

"Thanks. Call me Ashley, though. Or Ash."

"Ash it is. If… if you ever need someone to speak to about… you know… just come and find me."

"I… thanks, Kaidan."

After polite 'goodnights' to each other, Kaidan walked up the habitation aisle, giving Ashley a little wave as he stepped into one of the crew sleeper pods. The pod was then tucked silently underneath the walkway by the robotic arm it was attached to. Ashley sat in her seat, still sipping her coffee, still disliking the awful taste, but enjoying it nonetheless. In fact, she might have even started enjoying it more.

* * *

Shepard woke with a start, her head throbbing, her eyes aching, her breathing shallow. Her vision was slightly blurred but slowly coming back into focus as Dr Chakwas leaned over her. She could feel cold sweat all over her body and felt incredibly nauseous.

"Bowl," Shepard moaned, and as quick as a flash, in a movement that displayed her experience, Chakwas handed a vomit bowl to Shepard, who proceeded to be sick into it, hunched forward on the bed.

"Aw, shit. I'm not pregnant, am I?" Shepard groaned into the bowl after a little while, and Chakwas couldn't help but bark a loud laugh, which made Shepard wince.

"I haven't exactly tested for it, but no, I don't think you are, Commander," the doctor said, still chuckling somewhat.

"Good. That's good," Shepard replied as she slumped on her back, the doctor taking the bowl from her and disposing of it.

"How are you feeling?" Chakwas asked as she returned to the commander's side.

"Like shit. Like cooked shit," she answered, her fingers of each hand rubbing her eyes and face. "Jesus Christ, what happened? How long have I been out?"

"About 7 hours. How is your memory? Do you remember what happened on Eden Prime, Commander?"

"Eden Pr– shit, are Alenko and Williams okay? What happened to the colony?" Shepard starting upward and leaning on her elbow.

"Relax, Shepard. Everything is fine. Alenko and Williams are, I think, sleeping, and the Alliance are handling the colony, now."

"Jenkins… did you–"

"Yes, Commander. He's… he's down in the cargo bay," Chakwas said with a sympathetic smile, more to herself than to Shepard. She had gotten on well with the young and enthusiastic corporal.

"I need… I need to speak to Anderson," Shepard said as she tried to push herself out of bed.

"Ah ah ah, no," Chakwas said as she put a hand on the commander's shoulder. "You need your rest for now. I will tell the captain you've awoken but any debriefs shall have to wait until you've recovered."

"Fuck that, it's just a little motion sickness. Give me an anti-emetic if you don't want me hurling all over the ship," Shepard said, defying the doctor by turning her body and pushing her legs out from under the covers.

"Fine, but don't come crying to me when you fall over and crack your head open," Chakwas said firmly, knowing very well that if such a thing were to occur, she would still treat the commander, she just probably wouldn't be very sympathetic while she did so.

After Shepard got dressed into some fatigues and took a handful of pills supplied by Chakwas, she left the med bay and, under the disapproving gaze of the doctor, crossed the empty mess hall to the captain's quarters, using the button next to the door for permission to enter. After a moment, it opened.

"Shepard, you're up. Come on in," Anderson said as he got out of his seat by his desk in the far corner of the room. "I should have known you'd go against medical advice. You look like shit."

"I'm fine, Captain," Shepard replied. Her skin was pale and covered in a thin sheen of slowly drying sweat, and her lips dry and cracked. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her shoulder length, dyed red hair was tangled and slightly messy, some of it sticking to her head thanks to the perspiration. Despite all this, and despite the fact that she was anything but 'fine,' she held herself in parade rest, hands clasped together behind her back, legs shoulder-width apart and back straight, looking the model of an Alliance officer.

"Cal, sit down before you fall down," Anderson almost ordered, and Shepard obeyed. The two were now sitting opposite each other with the small circular table that stood in the middle of the room in between them. "I've heard from Alenko and Williams what happened on Eden Prime, and I know most of the details. What I don't know is what the beacon did to you, and why it exploded."

"It exploded?" Shepard said, frowning.

"It did. Threw you twenty feet by Alenko's estimation. But what happened before that? He said it raised you off the ground and tortured you or something."

"It… ah, this is going to sound corny as hell, but… it burned a… a vision into my head or something. When I was asleep that's all I could see, it was in my dreams."

Anderson frowned. "What's in this vision? What do you see?"

"It… it's hard to make out. It's horrible, though," Shepard said, her elbows rested on her knees as she hunched over and rubbed her temples with her fingers. "Images of death, of mutilated creatures, of cities being destroyed by some kind of synthetic race. Maybe the geth. But it's broken up, like it's incomplete or corrupted. It's like when you download half a vid and try to play it, it's just a mess of crap with the odd bit coming through."

"What do you think it means?" Anderson asked after a momentary pause, sitting forward.

Shepard looked up at him. "I think it's a warning, but I don't know for sure. I think the Protheans were trying to tell us something."

The pair sat in silence for a long moment, Shepard with her head in her hands still, trying to squeeze a little more information from the vision, to remember more of it, Anderson merely going over in his head what he'd just heard.

"Alenko said Nihlus was killed by another turian, named Saren. Shepard, this Saren is a Spectre," said Anderson.

Shepard looked back up at the captain at this, her surprise evident. "A fucking Spectre? Do Spectres usually go around killing each other?"

"I wouldn't know, but if this dockworker who saw Nihlus' death is right, it may mean Saren is leading the geth. At the very least, he's allied himself with them. The thing is that Saren hates humanity, believes we're growing too fast, taking over the galaxy. A lot of aliens think that way. Most don't do anything about it. But Saren isn't like most."

"Do you think he's doing this to sabotage humanity in some way, then?"

"More than likely. As a Spectre, he'd have known all about the beacon on Eden Prime, about Nihlus evaluating your Spectre candidacy. Perhaps he was trying to stop that, trying to discredit you. It doesn't look good, humanity's greatest soldier blowing up a Prothean beacon."

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Shepard said, raising her voice.

"I know that, and I'll stand behind you. As far as I'm concerned you're a damned hero. But you have to see it through the eyes of the Council. Again, it doesn't look good."

"So what do we do, then?" For all of Shepard's tactical acumen on the battlefield, she knew little of, and cared even less for the intricacies of politicking.

"We're on our way to the Citadel to speak to the Council, we'll see what they have to say first. They need to know about the vision, Shepard."

"What? Sir, if you want them to think I'm crazy, I can come up with much better ways than admitting that I'm dreaming the kind of shit that gets people institutionalised, whether it was caused by the beacon or not."

"I understand your reticence, but it could be important. They might have precedent for something like this, other beacons that have done similar things to people."

Shepard thought for a moment. Who knows how many beacons the races of the galaxy had found? They've been look for them for hundreds, if not thousands of years, even before humanity had rough approximations of civilisation. "Maybe…"

"For now, I want you to get some food down your neck and some rest. I know you, and you probably won't need to be at your peak for merely meeting the Council, but you're going to want to be anyway. To do that, you need to start listening to Dr Chakwas. Get back to the med bay and obey the doctor. That's an order. Dismissed, Commander."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Shepard said with a nod. She stood up and headed for the door, Anderson rising with her.

"Oh, and I'm having Gunnery Chief Williams transferred to the Normandy, Shepard."

At this, the commander turned around, stood in thought for a second, then smiled a little and nodded. Anderson watched the woman as she turned back around and strode out the room. The captain then raised his arm up, activating his omni-tool as he did so, and opened the message Dr Chakwas had sent just before Shepard had appeared at his door.

_Do me, and that incorrigible XO of yours a favour, and send her back to the med bay once you've finished debriefing her. Bloody woman, not taking 'no' for an answer, she just up and left!  
_

Anderson chuckled to himself, and returned to his desk.

* * *

There were murmurings amongst the crew that Shepard was awake in the med bay. Apparently, someone had seen her, looking ashen-faced, leaving the captain's room and crossing the mess into the med bay. Despite this, she hadn't reappeared, even with the rumour being a fair few hours old, now.

Despite the Normandy being brand new, and its crew only having been aboard for a few weeks, the ship itself having only been in flight for a couple of days, the professionalism and experience of the crew meant it had struck up a routine fairly quickly, one that was evident in most Alliance vessels. It was fairly early in the morning by Earth hours, but running a ship 24 hours a day in the middle of deep space meant there was little difference in the crew's activities at any given time. There was always one or two people sleeping, always was the CIC busy and the ship in flight. The mess hall was the only real way to tell the difference in the time of day; it was never full, and was sometimes completely empty, but it normally always had one or two people milling about, sitting and reading, eating, or watching vids or the news.

Kaidan Alenko was one of these people at this time, the large holographic monitors above the table only holding his attention for seconds at a time as he ate his breakfast. As the news started, it was the words 'Eden Prime' that caught a hold of him.

"… _supposed geth attack on the Attican Traverse colony_." The dark-haired female anchor of the Alliance News Network made way for a vid-reel of Eden Prime before the attack, the woman talking about its lush landscape and thriving agriculture. The vid-reel then changed to reveal the state the colony was in now; burning structures tainting the air above them with smoke, skies full of pregnant red clouds. It stopped short of showing anything grisly. None of the mysterious spikes that one of the engineers of the Normandy had imaginatively dubbed 'dragon's teeth,' a reference to an ancient myth. They showed none of the charred corpses he and Shepard had seen scattered around the place, none of the dead soldiers. Just landscape shots that merely gave a sense of the destruction.

"_We're joined now by the Citadel Ambassador for Earth, Donnel Udina. Mr Udina, what can you tell us about this attack_?"

The screen switched to the man the anchor was introducing. He looked quite gaunt, and his eyes were sunken like he had never heard of 'sleep' let alone had any for himself. His greying hair was set in a widow's peak that showed his age, but only less so than his wrinkled skin. Despite this, he spoke with authority. "_This was a heinous attack on an innocent colony. The people there are merely trying to get on with their lives. The Alliance is on-site in full force at the moment helping the survivors get back to their feet._ _I'm afraid I can't divulge too much information at this time on the specifics of the attack, however plans have been set in motion to make sure this does not happen again_."

Kaidan knew by that answer that the ambassador wasn't going to give up much more information. Before he joined the Alliance, Alenko might have been annoyed at the politician and his withholding, but now he knew that the man was working with classified information, and that it was classified for a reason. Anything he did reveal could scare off human colonisation of other systems, among myriad other reasons. Before the discovery of mass effect, Earth had been overpopulated for decades, with food becoming more scarce as the years went on. The Prothean beacon on Mars couldn't have been found at a more desperate time, and over the course of the next couple of decades, the population started to fall as people left the world in their millions, with new dark energy-driven technology providing those that stayed with multitudinous benefits. Now the home world has reached a golden age, the economy flourishing due to the resource wealth the colonies and other ventures in space have provided.

Kaidan switched the monitor over to some other channel, and started at a voice that piped up from behind him.

"I was watching that." It was Shepard, leaning against the wall, appearing as if out of nowhere. She looked markedly better than she did the last time the Staff Lieutenant had seen her, though anyone walking would look better than they did being carted away comatose and on a stretcher. Still, even though Kaidan didn't know it, she looked better than she had when she talked with Anderson. Her hair back to normal and clean, with a hint of colour returning to her face.

"Commander, I'd heard that you were up," Alenko said as he stood up. "It's good to see you up and about."

"I see scuttlebutt doesn't take a damned rest. Thanks, though. You good, LT?"

"Yeah, got off Eden Prime completely unscathed thanks to you."

Shepard frowned. "Pfft, I know _that's_ bullshit. You would have been fine without me, and I won't hear anything more on the subject. Is Williams about?"

"I think she's–"

Just as Alenko went to answer, another voice came from somewhere deeper into the mess, behind the partition wall that parted the dining area from the habitation deck and therefore out of view of both Shepard and Alenko. "I'm here, Commander."

Ashley Williams appeared from around the partition, Kaidan feeling his heart miss a beat as she did so. She had obviously just climbed out of her sleeping pod, her hair now slightly messy and draped over her shoulders where before it had been pulled back into a pony-tail. She also wasn't wearing anything on her long and tanned legs besides white ankle socks, and the slightly wrinkled t-shirt she slept in came down to the middle of her thighs. Alenko tried not to stare at the Gunnery Chief as Shepard greeted her, and felt another jolt in his chest as Williams then nodded at him with a smile.

"Congratulations are in order, aren't they? Anderson told me you're pretty much crew here now," Shepard said to the other woman, beaming her own smile.

"Yeah, I can't really believe it, Skipper. It's bitter-sweet, what with leaving… well, Eden Prime, but… I'd be lying if I didn't say I was excited. I was tired of being nothing but a shit-kicker."

"The only shit you'll be kicking now is out of the geth, Gunny," Shepard said, and Williams nodded her head with a smile. "Glad to have you aboard. We'll be arriving at the Citadel in an hour, so I'll need you two to be ready. We're going to see the Council, all three of us along with the Captain, so that should be… interesting," Shepard said to the pair.

"Ma'am, would it be all right if we did a little shopping, too? I need to pick up a few things. Grieco doesn't really deal in some of the more… feminine products," Williams asked, slightly sheepishly.

"I'll have to ask Anderson, but it shouldn't be a problem so long as we don't take too long. All right, then, I want to see you both by the airlock after we've docked on the Citadel. Be in your dress blues. They're a pain in the ass, I know, but damn it if we don't look good in them," Shepard said, grinning. She had a mind to remind them of the 'pistols and shield generators at all times' rule, but thought better not to patronise.

"Aye, aye, ma'am," the two marines said in unison. Williams strode over to a locker just off the habitation deck and opened it, quickly stepping into a pair of shorts and grabbing a towel as she made for the showers. Alenko sat back down and Shepard, after grabbing a cup of water, sat down opposite Alenko and turned the monitor above her on, using her omni-tool to scan for channels.

"You don't drink coffee, ma'am?" Alenko asked as he eyed the water.

Shepard shook her head. "You get dependent on it, and the Alliance's stuff tastes like crap anyway. They purify a good cup of water, though," she said as she went to take another sip.

"If it's all right, I'd like to… err, refrain from going shopping with you and Ash," Alenko said, just as sheepishly as Williams did when she suggested the idea.

"That's fine. Can't see it being much fun for you," Shepard answered. "Besides, we're probably going to be talking about you." With that, Shepard drained her cup, turned the monitor off and stood up. "I'll see you in an hour, Alenko," she said with a smile as she walked away from the wide-eyed Lieutenant.

* * *

Shepard stood alongside Joker on the bridge, watching the Citadel off in the far distance through the viewport. The Serpent Nebula that surrounded the super-structure had bathed the bridge in a strange purple light. The Normandy was currently attached to a fuel depot, and Joker was waiting for the ship to be filled with the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that powered its manoeuvring thrusters.

"You err… you ever been to the Citadel before, Commander?" Joker asked. He was a little put off by Shepard's presence. As far as he knew she was still unconscious down in the med bay. That was until she appeared next to him, as if nothing had happened to her, and looking incredibly handsome in her dress blues.

"Nope. Always wanted to, just… never had a reason, I suppose," Shepard answered. "You ever been?"

"Nah. This is the first time I'll be docking on it. An on-foot visit will have to wait, though. I need to get some bunk-time. I'm running on fumes at the moment. I sleep when my baby sleeps," the pilot added, stroking the panel in front of him.

"We don't have a relief pilot?" Shepard asked.

"Nuh-uh. Nobody else but me touches my ship, even if that means I don't sleep for a few days."

"Is that healthy?"

"I've got the endurance certificates, and I sleep at the helm when we're cruising, the shipboard VI does everything else. That, and stims means I can go for days at a time, but it's rare that I ever have to," Joker proudly said to the commander. "Refuelling's finished. We're on our way."

The sound of the docking clamps releasing travelled through the hull, and a tiny amount of movement could be felt as the ship started toward the Citadel, its inertia dampeners absorbing almost all of the motion. Just then, the sound of footsteps announced Alenko and Williams' arrival on the bridge, and Shepard turned her head and smiled at the sight.

"Fuck me, look at these dapper motherfuckers. Looking good, you two," Shepard approved to the pair as she turned fully to face them.

They were both dressed in their blues, just like Shepard had asked. Alenko's showed off his broad shoulders, making him look decidedly more intimidating than even when he was in his armour. Williams' uniform accentuated her curves, but not in an overly suggestive way, and her hair was back up in a pony-tail, making her look a lot more official than she had done with it down.

"You don't scrub up so bad yourself, Skip," Williams returned.

"Eh, I always look good," Shepard said as she pretended to knock dust off her shoulder.

"Instead of fawning over each other, you might want to check out the view," Joker chimed in with from behind Shepard.

The Normandy was fast approaching the Citadel, and with it came a vast array of ships, all of different sizes and shapes.

"Look at all the ships!" Shepard said in an almost childlike manner, clearly excited by the view.

"The size of that one," Williams' proclaimed, pointing at an absolute behemoth that made even the Citadel look small, let alone any of the other vessels.

"That's the Destiny Ascension," Shepard affirmed. "I've always wanted a model of it, but they're far too expensive."

"That's the flagship of the Citadel fleet, isn't it?" Alenko asked, and Shepard turned her head to him, nodding fervently.

"Size isn't everything," Joker asked, a little offended that the three were admiring the dreadnought while standing on the bridge of his pride and joy.

"Why so touchy, Joker?" Williams asked, picking up on his wounded feelings.

"I'm just saying you need firepower, too."

"Look at that monster! It's main gun could rip through the barriers of any ship in the Alliance fleet," Williams replied. Joker merely rolled his eyes, but with a smile.

"Good thing it's on our side, then," Alenko uttered.

As Joker spoke with Citadel Control requesting permission to dock, Shepard and the others remained glued to the viewport, taking in the spectacle of the Citadel itself.

"How did the Protheans build this thing? It beggars belief," Shepard asked as they flew in between the Wards, the arms of the Citadel, each of them a huge city. The Citadel housed a population of over 13 million, consisting of every known species in the galaxy.

When docking was complete, Joker stood up.

"You kids have fun, now," he said as he started down the aisle.

Shepard watched him, a little troubled by the man's unseemly gait. He walked a little hunched, each step a little measured but with confidence. Before she could ask Alenko about it, Anderson appeared in the CIC. He walked over to Joker, and they shared a word, before Anderson clapped a hand lightly on the pilot's shoulder and strode past him towards Shepard and her companions. As he got close enough, he smiled proudly at them as they stood shoulder to shoulder, and saluted him.

"At ease," he said as he came to a stop in front of them. "You three look ready to charm the Council into damned submission."

"Well, there are three of us and three of them, sir," Shepard said. "I've got first choice, but Williams is getting the ugliest one."

Alenko and Anderson laughed while Ashley pouted a little.

"The FNGs and their short straws," Anderson said through a smile while shaking his head.

* * *

"This is an outrage! The Council would step in if the geth attacked a turian colony!"

Shepard was watching Ambassador Udina almost berate the Council from his office on the Citadel. He was standing in front of life-size holographic depictions of the three members. Councilor Sparatus, a turian, Councilor Tevos, an asari, and Councilor Valern, a salarian, each a representative of the three most powerful races in the galaxy. The ambassador was not happy with the Council's apparent inaction over the events on Eden Prime. Udina had started this call to merely tell the Council that Captain Anderson and his crew were here to speak to them, and then ended up getting sidetracked into an argument with them. Shepard would have found his willingness to castigate the Council admirable, if it weren't for the fact that there was just something she did not like about the man.

The Council had told the ambassador that the reason for the Council's inaction in regards to Eden Prime was that the colony was founded on the borders of the Terminus Systems, a large and lawless area of the galaxy. As for Saren, Citadel Security was investigating, and the Council would tell nothing to Udina until the hearing.

"As you probably heard, the Council are not happy. Saren's their top agent. They don't like him being accused of treason," Udina spoke to the group after the call had ended.

Shepard remained silent. Part of her felt she was in over her head with all this, and so decided it would be better to keep her mouth shut and be presumed an idiot rather than open it and prove herself as such. That didn't stop Udina addressing her directly, though.

"As for you, Shepard, the mission on Eden Prime was to prove you could get the job done, prove your mettle to a Spectre and become humanity's first. Instead, Nihlus ended up dead and the beacon was destroyed!"

Shepard couldn't help it. Even though she'd heard almost the exact same words come from Anderson, those had none of the venom the ambassador's had. Anderson was a damned soldier, he knew what kinds of shit can happen in the heat of battle. This Udina was a little weasel, only without any of the animal's redeeming qualities.

"I know what happened. I was there, dipshit. This fucking guy," she said almost offhandedly, not betraying her anger, while standing up and making for the door. Ignoring Udina's protests, she walked out.

After a short while, Udina appeared first, ignoring the commander leaning against the wall opposite the door and trotted down the steps. Anderson followed, but stepped toward Shepard.

"The man's a prick, Cal, I'll give you that, but he's on your side," he said, patting the woman on the shoulder. "C-Sec are investigating Saren, so we can hope they pick up something. Anyway, follow us up to the Citadel Tower. Udina wants a word with me." With that, Anderson followed the ambassador down the stairs.

"That's why I hate politicians," Williams said as Anderson disappeared from view.

* * *

Shepard, Alenko and Williams were following the directions on the Presidium to the Citadel Tower, but they weren't in any hurry. Taking in the sights and sounds of the station was incredibly distracting. It was fairly busy, with people darting in and out of offices, using VI terminals, standing around and talking. It could have been any busy part of Earth were it not for the obvious differences in species.

The main council races, the asari, turians, and salarians, were most prominent, with the odd human here and there. The hanar were noticeable, not in number but in appearance, the large, pink jellyfish-looking creatures standing out, usually flanked by a drell or two. The volus were curious, though. Despite being diminutive in stature and rotund, they stood proudly, their voices easily heard despite their almost laboured sounding breathing. None stood out more than the elcor, though. Big hulking things, they reminded Shepard of Earth's elephants.

"I can't tell the aliens from the animals," Shepard heard Williams say from behind her. She looked over her shoulder and frowned somewhat at the woman, who was busy staring at a Keeper, the mysterious insect-like creatures who maintained the Citadel.

"Come on, let's just get to the Tower and get this shit over with," said Shepard, the novelty of the station wearing off.


	3. Reckoner

**III  
Reckoner  
**

* * *

The Council chambers were a lavish affair, possibly the most arrogant thing she'd ever seen, Shepard thought. The tone of the place was a shade darker than that of the Presidium, which was bathed in artificial sunlight that bounced off its pure white surfaces. The light sources here spanned the walls, but they gave way to the light shining in from the tall windows at the very back of the long hall. The Serpent Nebula cast a purple and pink tint over the room, though not to the extent that it had done to the bridge of the Normandy, and it was echoed and accentuated in the pink blossom trees that were situated around it.

Shepard, Alenko and Williams were stood at the top of the first set of stairs in the immense chamber, ones that led down to the elevator they had arrived in. The three were taking in the sights. Shepard's attention, however, was quickly drawn to a pair of turian men off to the side near the fountain that dominated the centre of the first area. They were talking animatedly to each other, the one furthest away seemingly angered by something. The turian with his back to Shepard eventually walked off, leaving the impassioned turian staring at the ground, hands balled into fists. After a second, his gaze snapped up onto Shepard, and he started toward her.

"You're Commander Shepard, aren't you?" He asked as he got close enough, all anger professionally cast aside.

"The very same," Shepard answered. The turian merely stood staring at her blankly, or at least what she thought was blankly. She still wasn't that used to interacting with aliens. "That is to say, err… yes, I am."

"Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec," he said as he proffered his hand, which Shepard shook. "I'm the officer in charge of the investigation into Saren. Or at least I was until about ten seconds ago."

"Oh. Well, pleased to meet you, Officer," Shepard said. "This is Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, and this is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. They were my ground team on Eden Prime."

As she introduced the pair, they both nodded at him. Alenko's had a smile to it, Williams' didn't.

"I'm assuming that other turian you were speaking to was your boss, then?" The commander asked.

"Yeah, Executor Pallin, head of C-Sec. He'll be presenting my findings to the Council, but it won't do much good. As a Spectre, nearly everything Saren touches is classified. I couldn't get any hard evidence."

Shepard stood in thought for a moment. "What can you tell me about Saren?"

"Not much. He's a cult hero on Palaven, our home world. It's almost as if someone doesn't want him to be disgraced. They think it'll look bad for the turians. I don't trust him, though. Something about him rubs me the wrong way," Vakarian said.

"Huh. You sound like you're not going to listen to your executor," Shepard considered.

"I couldn't possibly say. With any luck the Council will listen to you, though."

"I doubt that. I've only had seconds of experience with them and I'm already getting tired of their bullshit. Speaking of, we'd better be going. Don't want the royal highnesses slapping our wrists for tardiness. It was nice to meet you, Officer Vakarian."

"It's just Garrus, Commander," replied the turian.

"Well then, it's just Shepard, Garrus," returned the human.

* * *

"Commander, you haven't really mentioned this whole Spectre deal. What do you think about it all?" Williams asked Shepard as they climbed the second set of steps toward the back of the large hall. The area in front of them was larger than the previous, and was scattered with small rock gardens in-between paths.

"I dunno. Haven't a clue what it all entails, if I'm honest, but I don't think I've got much choice about actually becoming a Spectre. I could do with less fucking attention, I'll tell you that much, people I don't even know scrutinising my every move. Pisses me the fuck off."

"Apparently Spectres get access to the best equipment, best weapons–" Alenko pointed out, but was interrupted by Shepard.

"Well shit, why didn't anyone mention weaponry?"

"And then there's the money, Shepard. You'll be getting a very good wage as well as funding for your missions from the Council. I've heard it's a _lot_ of money."

"Okay, Alenko. You had me at 'best weapons,'" Shepard laughed.

After traversing the length of the Council Chambers, the three finally reached the bottom of the final set of stairs, ones that led to the audience hall where the Council held their hearings and other such meetings. Anderson was waiting for them, and hurried them up, telling them their hearing had just started.

Shepard got her first sight of Saren as she got to the top of the stairs. For some reason, his holograph was being projected next to the Council themselves, standing in the corner of the chamber at least twenty feet high. Shepard didn't like this. Why have him so God damn big? Was it an effort to intimidate, or was it more symbolic than that? All Shepard knew was that it pissed her off.

Her anger wasn't assuaged by the audience chamber itself. Udina stood at the end of a long and narrow balcony, which reminded Shepard of the wooden planks used on seafaring ships in the hundreds of years old stories about pirates from Earth. It was set over a large garden area that sat some fifteen feet below, and it separated the petitioner's stage from the Council. Shepard no longer thought the rest of the hall was the most arrogant thing she'd seen, she now thought this was.

"The geth attack is a matter of some concern, but there is nothing to indicate that Saren was involved in any way," were the first words from the Council Shepard actually heard. They were spoken by the asari councillor, Tevos, and despite her instinct, the words rang true to Shepard. She had not actually _seen_ Saren on Eden Prime, the overly large holograph being her very first sighting of the turian.

"The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason," the turian councillor, Sparatus, spoke up this time.

"An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood!" Udina replied, angrily.

"The testimony of one traumatised dockworker is hardly compelling proof," said the salarian councillor, Valern.

At this, Saren's voiced boomed loudly through the hall, surprising Shepard. "I resent these accusations. Nihlus was a fellow Spectre, and a friend."

"That just let you catch him off guard!" Anderson shouted, clearly frustrated.

"Ah, Captain Anderson. You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me," Saren returned. "And this must be your protégé, Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed."

The blame being put on her shoulders for the beacon's destruction was becoming old news to Shepard. Instead of getting angry, or responding to what was clearly a taunt meant to provoke such a reaction, Shepard merely uttered a single word.

"S'up?"

A silence rang through the chamber, all that could be heard was a stifled sniggering from over the commander's shoulder, clearly belonging to Williams. A few seconds passed before the turian councillor spoke.

"Are you not denying the beacon's destruction was your fault, Commander Shepard?"

"I don't know how or why the beacon blew up, but it nearly killed me according to my doctor," Shepard started. "There was no way we could know that the beacon was capable of doing what it did to me, unless of course someone was withholding intel on what the beacons can do. Humanity is still relatively new to all this. I find it a little suspicious that we weren't warned of such dangers."

"A beacon of this nature has never before been reported. The Council is _not_ withholding vital intelligence, Commander," Valern replied.

"Then I don't understand this line of questioning. If the _great and mighty_ Citadel Council has no knowledge of such beacons then how could the _lowly_ humans? Nobody 'let' the beacon get destroyed, and I was not at fault. Saren's logic is flawed," Shepard added, with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Shepard saved that colony, Councillors," Anderson began. "Were it not for the beacon blowing up in her face, something no one could have predicted, you'd have your beacon, and her actions would not be under such scrutiny."

"I read the Eden Prime report. I was unimpressed," Saren said. "Not that I expected much from a human."

"An idiot and a racist! And this guy's a Spectre?" Shepard spat.

"Your species needs to learn its place, Shepard," Saren menacingly started. "You're not ready to join the Council. You're not even ready to join the Spectres!"

"Keep showing your bigotry, asshole."

"He has no right to say that. That's not his decision!"

Shepard and Udina spoke up in unison, though both voices could be heard clearly.

"Shepard's admission in the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting," Tevos pointed out.

"This meeting has no purpose. The humans are wasting your time, Councillor. As well as mine," Saren replied.

"I don't care if you were on Eden Prime or not. If we ever meet, I'm kicking your fuckin' ass on pure principle," Shepard said loudly, pointing sharply at Saren's holograph.

"Order, please!" Valern protested. "The issue of Saren's involvement in the attack on Eden Prime still needs evidence. So far, we have seen nothing."

At this, Shepard turned to Anderson and spoke to him under her breath. "I think the vision the beacon gave me is a no-go, Captain. There's nothing about Saren in it. Mentioning it now could do more harm than good."

Anderson closed his eyes tightly, almost as if Shepard's words had hurt him. "You're right, but we have nothing else."

Shepard shook her head.

"Do you have anything else you wish to tell us, Commander Shepard?" Sparatus said, and Shepard turned back to the Council.

"Nope," Shepard exclaimed with a sigh.

The Councillors looked at each other, silently achieving unanimity in their decision, with Tevos shaking her head.

"The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the geth," she said. "Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is revoked."

* * *

Saren was right about one thing, Shepard thought: that hearing was a waste of time. Beyond the eyewitness account of Nihlus' death, which was too easily waved away by the Council, they really did have nothing to go on. Now it was up to Shepard to dig up some dirt on the Spectre, or else the attack on Eden Prime would go unpunished. Anderson had taken himself out of the investigation, apparently having had a past altercation with Saren, and therefore not wanting to taint any evidence with suspicions of bias on his part. It didn't sit well with Shepard, but it made sense, and Anderson promised to retell his story of Saren later. For now, he wanted her to focus on obtaining proof.

They were looking for Garrus Vakarian, the turian C-Sec investigator Shepard had talked to earlier. Thanks to their earlier conversation, it was all but obvious that he was still unofficially investigating Saren. Anderson had given her a name and location in tracking Vakarian down: Harkin, a disgraced human C-Sec agent, and Chora's Den, a bar on one of the Citadel's Ward arms, where this Harkin might be found.

"It's a God damned titty bar!" Shepard said as she, Alenko, and Williams entered Chora's Den.

The place was dark and smelly, though surprisingly clean despite that, and the air pounded with the sounds of a heavy bass beat. The place was set in a circle surrounding a ring-shaped bar, above which sat a disc-like podium where asari and human women danced, barely wearing any clothing. Around the bar were seats and viewing areas, which housed even more dancers and their paying customers.

"I didn't even know they had anything like this on the Citadel. So much for alien superiority," Williams said, pointing out that the customers weren't just human, but turian and even some krogan, too.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm getting me a drink," Shepard said as she reached the bar. "Barkeep, an elasa, por favor!" She said as she elaborately waved her hand.

"Elasa? What kind of drink is that?" Alenko asked, leaning on the bar next to Shepard.

"All I know is that it's an asari liquor. Always wanted to try it," she answered.

The asari bartender came over and poured her two fingers of a sanguine liquid into a small glass, which Shepard quickly downed. She snapped her head to the side and shivered as she brought the empty glass back down to the bar with an audible slam.

"That hit the spot," she said hoarsely. She then offered the bartender her credit chit, which was waved away.

"That was on me, sweet thing," the asari maiden said in a rather seductive manner as she smiled at Shepard coquettishly.

"Err… thanks, I suppose," Shepard replied. The asari walked away to serve another customer, leaving Shepard's cheeks slightly coloured as she traded wide-eyed looks with an amused Williams.

"Has that ever happened to you before?" Williams asked. Shepard shook her head in reply. "First time?" Shepard nodded.

"It must be the dress blues," Shepard said.

The three started to weave around the bar's customers, trying to find someone who could possibly resemble a disgraced C-Sec agent, whatever that might look like. Shepard noticed a krogan in dark red armour arguing with another of his species who seemed to be bouncing a door that led further into the club. The first krogan seemed to want to get past the bouncer, but he wasn't moving. As Shepard drew near, the red armoured krogan quickly span around and nearly knocked Shepard over.

"Hey, watch where you're fucking walking, you big lug!" Shepard shouted at him. The krogan turned around and started walking backwards, smirking at Shepard. His reptile-like face and head-plate was heavily scarred. He turned back around and lumbered towards the exit. "Fucking asshole," Shepard muttered under her breath as she massaged her shoulder.

Eventually, Alenko pointed out a man sitting alone at a table, clearly a little inebriated. If anyone in the bar looked like the person they were seeking, it was him. He looked to be in his forties, the only hair on his balding head was behind his ears. He looked like he could handle himself, but that his best days were either past him or he'd given up on reclaiming them. Shepard approached the man.

"Are you Harkin?" She asked.

"Hey there, sweetheart," he said, slurring. "You looking for some fun? Gotta say, that uniform you've got on looks real good on that bod of yours. How about you sit on old Harkin's lap? See if you feel anything you might like."

"Do you use that line often or are you trying it out for the first time?" Shepard asked, derisively.

"Hey, if you don't ask, you don't get," the man replied.

"Judging by the mere look of you, I'd bet you don't _get_ much at all," Shepard returned.

"You trying to hurt my feelings?" He asked sardonically. "You gotta do better than that. After twenty years with C-Sec, I've been called every name in the book, Princess."

"Call me 'Princess' again and you'll be picking your teeth out of your asshole for the next month," Shepard said, with a snarl.

"Is that a threat?" Harkin asked, standing up, his face now an inch away from Shepard's.

"I don't make threats, I make promises."

"Fuck you, _Princess_."

At that, Harkin swung a punch at Shepard, who telegraphed it, blocking it and tucking his forearm in her arm pit. She then thrust the palm of her free hand into Harkin's mouth with a crunch. The man staggered back and slumped in his seat, wide-eyed with a hand covering his mouth. He swallowed deeply and removed his hand, holding it underneath his chin while blood and spit poured onto it.

"You bithch!" He squealed with a lisp. "You'ff knocked out my teef! I'ff fucking thwallowed them!"

"A promise is a promise!" Shepard said, almost sweetly. "Now, tell me where I might find Garrus Vakarian."

"M-med clinic, near here," the man said, shrivelling up in his seat, showing none of the drunken bravado he had before.

"Thanks. Enjoy your next bowel movement. Oh, and if I ever see you again, I'll shove your tongue so far down your throat you'll be able to taste your shit while you're chewing on it."

Williams and Alenko shared a surprised look, much like they had on Eden Prime when Shepard had jumped on the head of a husk. "That'll be one to tell the grandchildren," said Alenko, out of earshot of Shepard.

"By the way she's going, I think I'll have to start writing it down. I won't be able to remember it all," Williams replied.

* * *

The team were now on their way to the med clinic Harkin mentioned. They were hurrying as they didn't know why Vakarian was there. Was he injured, dying? Part of Shepard thought the worst, but the logical assumption would be that a gravely injured C-Sec officer would be taken to one of the hospitals on the Presidium, not some med clinic on the Wards. Most likely was that Vakarian was merely following up on a lead. Either way there was no guarantee he'd be there for long. How Harkin knew of the turian investigator's location, Shepard had no clue, but neither did she really care.

As they drew near to the door of the clinic, three loud bangs in quick succession, clearly gunshots, sounded from inside. The three drew their pistols, each taking a position on the wall next to the door, Shepard on one side, Alenko and Williams on the other. After a second, Shepard nodded her head and Alenko reached over to the holographic interface in the middle of the door and slapped it. As it opened, Shepard took a quick peek then entered with her gun raised. Three human men lay dead on the ground, blood pooling out around their heads from slug wounds. Garrus Vakarian stood over them, pistol in hand, while a human woman in a medical uniform kneeled on the ground, sobbing.

At the sound of the door opening, Vakarian pointed his gun toward it. When he realised it was Shepard and her team, he lowered his weapon. The three entering humans did the same.

"Shepard. Could have done with you a second ago, but I suppose this way I get to show off a little," Garrus said, as he stowed his gun on his belt.

"What the fuck happened here?" Shepard asked with a frown. Looking around at the dead bodies, she now realised they had been armed when they died, their weapons strewn around them.

"These thugs were threatening Dr Michel, one put a gun to her head," he said as he pulled the doctor onto her feet. "You okay?" He asked the woman.

"Yes, I am fine. Oh, thank you, thank you!" She sobbed in a thick French accent as she hugged her turian saviour. Garrus put his hands on her back and gently shushed her.

"Doctor, what did these men want from you?" Shepard asked, in as gentle a voice she could manage.

"Th-they… they were trying to silence me," Michel answered as she pulled her head up from Garrus' breastplate to look at Shepard, her eyes gleaming with tears. "They w-work for Fist. They didn't want me t-telling Garrus about the quarian."

Shepard's eyes narrowed, and she turned her head toward Williams. "Watch the door," she said, then turned back to the doctor. "What quarian?" Shepard asked.

"I-I treated her," she had pulled away from Garrus now, regaining her composure somewhat, though Garrus kept a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Sh-she had been shot, but she wouldn't tell me who by. She was t-terribly scared, like she was on the run. She wanted the Shadow Broker, wanted to exchange information for safety. I pointed her in the direction of Fist."

"Who's Fist?" Shepard inquired. She had heard of the Shadow Broker, an anonymous and extremely powerful information broker.

"You weren't to know, but this is bad," Garrus said to the doctor, then turned to Shepard. "Fist used to work for the Shadow Broker, but now he's with Saren. This must mean the quarian has something Saren wants."

"This could be our God damn evidence!" Shepard enthused. "Doctor, did the quarian say anything about Saren, or the geth?" She added, eagerly.

"Yes!" Dr Michel answered, her eyes wide. "She said her information had something to do with the geth."

"This might link Saren to the geth if he wants that information so badly. Shepard, that quarian is in danger, and we need that evidence," Garrus said. Shepard liked how the turian seemed to place the quarian's safety over the evidence.

"Where's this 'Fist,' then?" Shepard queried.

"He runs Chora's Den, he'll most likely be there," Garrus answered. "Shepard, there's a krogan Shadow Broker agent named Wrex on the Citadel. Apparently, he's after Fist, too. We've just hauled him in to the C-Sec Academy to keep the peace, but as a krogan, he could be useful in a fight. If we get into one, that is."

"A krogan? Let me guess: badly scarred face, dark red armour?"

"That's the one. You know him?"

"No, but I 'bumped into him' at Chora's Den. He was there trying to get to Fist, I think. Do you think you could get him released? Tell him to meet us near Chora's Den?"

"I can. I need to call this in, anyway," Garrus said, gesturing to the bodies on the ground. "Before I do that, Shepard, I need a favour. Let me come with you, I want to bring down Saren just as much as you do."

"Why do you want to bring down a fellow turian?"

"Say the roles were reversed and a human attacked a turian colony with the geth. Wouldn't you want to bring _them_ down?"

Shepard thought for a moment. By now it was pretty obvious Saren was behind the attack on Eden Prime. She knew for a fact that she would indeed want to stop Saren if he were a human, as it would look bad on humanity. More than that, the killing of innocents angered her immensely, it didn't matter one iota what race they were. Vakarian was trying to stop Saren from further slurring the turians in the eyes of humans, as well as every other species, but he also wanted Saren to answer for his crimes, whether he was turian or not.

"Of course I would," she answered, then shook her head. "Sorry, that was short-sighted of me to ask."

"Don't worry about it. So I guess I'm coming, then?"

"The more the merrier. I just hope this wasn't a fluke," Shepard said, pointing at the bodies of the three men Garrus had put down so swiftly.

"Believe me, it wasn't, and thank you. Just give me a minute to call the Academy."

As Garrus contacted C-Sec, Shepard stepped toward Dr Michel and put an hand on her shoulder.

"You sure you're okay?" Shepard asked her.

"Yes," she replied, gently nodding. "If it was not for Garrus, I… oh, I don't know what they would have done to me."

"It's best not to dwell on such things. You're safe now. We'll wait around until C-Sec shows up to be sure."

"Thank you… Shepard, was it?"

Shepard nodded. "It was, but thank _you_, Doc. I don't want to sound dramatic, but what you've told us could help stop a war."

* * *

The krogan, Wrex, stood out like a sore thumb in the corridor that connected the med clinic's part of the Wards with Chora's Den's part. His hump could be seen above the few passing people, and as Shepard and her team, now including Garrus, drew closer to him, they could see that every passer by was giving him a particularly wide berth.

Wrex eventually noticed the group heading right for him, and smirked as he remembered the female human with the fire hair who'd given him a mouthful earlier.

"If it isn't the tiny thing with the quad," he said as they reached him, his voice a deep rumble.

"If it isn't the big lug with no sense of direction," Shepard replied.

"Ha!" His monosyllabic laugh was incredibly loud, and shocked a few people walking past, drawing stares. "I like you, human."

"Name's Shepard. I'm going after Fist. What do you want with him?"

"I'll give you fair warning because I like you, Shepard. I'm going to kill Fist," he answered, leaning into Shepard's face, a mere inch away from her.

"You must be pretty loyal to the Shadow Broker," Shepard suggested, without backing away.

"I'm loyal to the money he's paying me to get this job done. I'm a merc, not one of his agents," Wrex said, returning to a more neutral stance.

"Fair enough. So, you want to come along?"

"My people have a saying: seek the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend."

"We humans have a similar saying," Shepard said while nodding. "Welcome aboard," she added, extending her hand. Wrex merely looked at it. Shepard felt it was going to be a while before she got used to dealing with aliens.

"I've scoped Chora's Den out," Wrex said. "It's closed, they threw everyone out just as as I got here. He knows we're coming."

"Great," Shepard replied, sarcastically. "Well, we can only assume they've got guns trained on the entrance. How many are in there?"

"Don't know. Could be a handful, could be dozens."

"Any other entry points?"

"Not that I know of."

"Garrus, you got any schematics or floor-plans for the building?" Shepard asked as she turned to the turian.

"Hold on, I think I can get some," he said, opening his omni-tool. After a few seconds, he brought up a hologram that hovered above his arm. "Here," he said, pointing to a section on the 3D map of Chora's Den and its surrounding area. "The skycar tunnel underneath the club has a few keeper maintenance areas, this one here," he said, zooming into it, "passes right by the rear of the building. This wall here is a keeper door. It's seamless, leads into the back of the club, and I doubt Fist or anyone else knows its there."

"Perfect. We'll use a skycar to get there," Shepard said.

"I'll call one in from C-Sec," Garrus exclaimed. While he did that, Shepard turned to Alenko and Williams.

"I'll go with Wrex and Garrus to the maintenance area, you two stand by the door to the club. If you hear anything untoward, or I hail you on the comms to do so, you cause a distraction. Bear in mind you've only got your shields to protect you, so I wouldn't advise actually entering the club. Stay outside, cause that distraction if needed, and get the hell out of here as soon as I give the order. Clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Alenko and Williams said in unison.

"Shepard," Garrus said as he got off comms, "the C-Sec car is on its way, it's going to meet us not far from here. I'll take you to it."

"Okay, it's you, me, and Wrex, then. Let's go."

As Wrex and Garrus started off, Williams pulled Shepard aside.

"Commander, be careful, okay?" She said as she eyed the turian and krogan as they walked away.

"Ashley, trust that I trust them, you got that?" Shepard answered, rather sternly.

"I'm…" Williams went to respond but clearly thought better of it. "Yes, Commander."

* * *

It didn't take long for Shepard and the two aliens to reach the skycar, which was piloted by a C-Sec officer friend of Garrus', nor did it take long for the skycar to reach its destination in the tunnels under Chora's Den. The maintenance area itself was a barren corridor. The only way of knowing it was made for the keepers was that it was quite small, small enough that Wrex was bent double as they traversed it, and even then the apex of his hump rubbed against the ceiling. It was surprisingly well lit, with stretches of light coming from the corners where wall met floor, and looked much like the rest of the Wards, only tighter and emptier. Garrus had taken point, his onmi-tool on and held in front of him, with the holographic map displaying their location floating above it. After only a short walk, Garrus stopped.

"This is it," he said as he traced the wall with his free hand, the other still holding up his omni-tool. "It's seamless, but it's still a door, so it should be fairly weak."

"Can you open it?" Shepard inquired.

"I can try," Garrus replied, "but if not, we should be able to just knock it down."

"Yeah, well, the quieter the better, but time isn't exactly on our side. Who knows _where_ that quarian is?"

About a minute passed as Garrus struggled with his omni-tool, but the door remained a wall.

"I can't get it," the turian finally said, his mandibles flaring in frustration.

"Shit," Shepard said. "Looks like we're going loud. I think we're going to need that distraction." She reached her finger to her ear, pushing on the comms implant to open the link to her other team. "Alenko, when I give the word, cause a fucking ruckus. You ready?"

"Ready, Commander," Alenko's slightly tinny voice sounded in her ear.

"What are we using to blow it?" Shepard asked the two aliens.

"My fist," Wrex replied, confidently.

"Really?" Shepard and Garrus asked simultaneously. Wrex nodded, then let his arm crackle with biotic energy.

"Good point, well made," Shepard said. "Whenever you're ready."

Wrex had little room to manoeuvre, so he stood with his back to the side of the door and pulled his right arm across his body. As he did, his arm became wreathed in biotic energy again, more so than before, and Shepard gave the signal to Alenko and Williams. Wrex then slammed the back of his fist into the wall, and the door buckled and gave way, falling into the space behind it. Muffled gunfire could be heard coming from the building.

Shepard went through the doorway, pistol up, her eyes darting around. The room was fairly dark, with only a couple of light sources. To her right was a desk, and she trained her gun over it, a head popped up from behind it looking directly at her. It then disappeared back behind the desk.

"Behind the desk," Shepard yelled. "Show your hands and stand up slowly."

The figure rose timidly, hands in the air.

"Fist!" Wrex shouted and started forward from behind Shepard. He smashed the desk out of the way like it barely weighed a thing and hoisted Fist up against the wall by his neck, the man's legs kicking at the surface behind him as he choked for air.

"Wrex, wait," Shepard shouted. "We need information from him!"

Wrex dropped the man, who slumped to the ground against the wall, his hands massaging his neck as he coughed. Shepard stepped forward, her pistol still trained on him.

"Where's the quarian?"

"Sh-she wanted to see the Shadow Broker," Fist stammered, his obvious fearfulness belying his aggressive name.

"Face to face? Impossible," Wrex supplied. "Even I was hired through an agent. No one meets the Shadow Broker. Ever."

"She d-didn't know that. I-I told her I'd set a meeting up, but when she gets there, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her."

"Tell me where this meeting is or I put a slug through your fucking knee," Shepard demanded.

"N-not far from here, in an alley behind the markets!" Fist answered, his hands now held up in surrender. "She should be meeting them right now!"

"Garrus, do you know where that is?" Shepard asked, turning her head to the turian.

"Yeah, it's ju–"

Garrus was interrupted by Wrex's shotgun going off. Shepard started, her head turned to the krogan, who was pointing his the shotgun at Fist, who no longer had a head. It was now plastered on the wall, a mess of gore and shards of skull.

"Jesus Christ, Wrex! You couldn't just use your pistol?" Shepard asked the now smiling krogan, flabbergasted. He merely rumbled a deep and menacing laugh in reply.

Shaking her head, a slightly disturbed look on her face, she turned back to Garrus. "Can you get us to that meeting?"

* * *

Shepard had given the order for Williams and Alenko to retreat, telling them to meet her in the markets. Meanwhile, she, Wrex, and Garrus had reached the alleyway Fist had told them about, leaving the club by way of the maintenance tunnel they'd come in through, the C-Sec skycar and its pilot waiting for them.

Shepard sprinted around a corner, Wrex and Garrus on her heels, and was greeted by the sight of the quarian girl in conversation with a turian. She was sandwiched in-between her interlocutor and a couple of armoured salarians, who were hanging back a little. Shepard slowed to a steady pace as she moved toward the group, her gun held down in front of her, ready to snap back up in a split second. As Shepard thought of her next move, the quarian stepped back from the turian, and then turned her head to the salarians behind her, who started advancing on her, pulling their guns. She then dived behind cover away from the turian.

Shepard charged forward and darted past the quarian. She jumped into the air, turning sideways, bent her right leg across her body and snapped it forward, cracking her heel into the turian's skull, who spinned violently and slumped to the ground. Shepard landed on her feet and span into an alcove that served as cover while Wrex, Garrus, and, surprisingly to Shepard, the quarian girl peppered the salarian assassins with slugs.

"Check them," Shepard said to Garrus a few seconds after the firing had stopped, nodding her head toward the bodies of Saren's men, then turned to the quarian. "You okay, Miss?"

"I'm fine. That bosh'tet set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him," she said, waving her hands in frustration.

"Fist? Don't worry about him, he got his comeuppance," Shepard said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder at Wrex, who grinned slyly and patted his shotgun.

"Not that I don't appreciate it, but who are you, and why did you help me?"

Shepard held her hands up in an attempt to clearly display a lack of hostility to the quarian. "I'm Commander Shepard of the Systems Alliance, that," she said, pointing to Garrus, "is Garrus Vakarian, a C-Sec officer, and this," gesturing to Wrex, "is… err… Wrex. We're looking for evidence to prove that Saren is with the geth, and that led us to you."

"Then maybe I can repay you for saving my life. But not here. Can we go somewhere safe?"

"Of course. We'll escort you to the embassy, Miss…"

"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. You can call me Tali," the quarian answered. Shepard smiled and nodded.

"Shepard," Garrus called to the commander as he surveyed the supine turian, "they're all dead, even this one. He wasn't hit by any of our slugs. From the looks of it, he has a broken neck."

"I did that?" Shepard inquired, looking shocked and confused, though with a hint of pride. Wrex laughed that menacing laugh again.


	4. Give Up the Ghost

**IV  
Give Up the Ghost  
**

* * *

After meeting up with Williams and Alenko in the markets, and introducing them to Tali, Shepard and her ensemble made their way back to the human embassy. It was a short but cautious journey. Shepard wasn't sure if Saren had any more men on the Citadel that would go after Tali, and whether they were brave or stupid enough to go against three marines, a C-Sec officer and a krogan to get to her. It didn't seem likely, but she didn't want to take any chances, so as they walked to the nearest rapid transit hub, they surrounded the quarian with Wrex leading, his massive frame buffeting the crowds away from the group.

Shepard was in conversation with Tali, filling her in on what had happened on Eden Prime, but eventually the topic dried up, so Shepard tried a little small talk.

"You ever had a bunch of bad-ass bodyguards before?" She asked, coaxing a chuckle from the quarian.

"No, I feel very important right now."

Once they had left the skycars behind on the Presidium and were within sight of the safety of the embassy, Shepard gave a mischievous grin to Tali.

"Make way! Make way, please. Very important person coming through!" She shouted out, at the top of her voice.

The fact that there were very few people in between the group and the embassy was not lost on the quarian, making it all the funnier despite Shepard's booming voice startling her a little. She chuckled again, drawing another grin from Shepard.

* * *

"You're not making my life any easier, Shepard," Udina complained as the commander and her team arrived in his office. Anderson had been seated at a desk reading a datapad, but stood up when Shepard entered. "Fistfights, fire-fights, a trail of dead bodies. It'll take months to sort through all the paperwork. And now you've brought a krogan, a turian, and a quarian into my office? Just what are you up to, Shepard?"

"For fuck's sake. If you'd stow your tongue for half a second, I'd be able to tell you," Shepard answered. "This is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, and we believe she has evidence linking Saren to the geth. We got to her, and got her here, with help from Garrus and Wrex."

"I see," Udina murmured. "We don't see many quarians on the Citadel. Why did you leave the flotilla?"

"I'm on my pilgrimage. It's a rite of passage into adulthood," Tali replied.

"Wait, so you're not an adult?" Shepard asked.

"Technically, I am, but I am not seen as such by my people until I return to the fleet with something of value."

"Technically? Tali, how old are you?"

"I am 27."

"Is that in Earth years or…?"

"Rannoch years. By Earth years, I think am… 17, more or less."

"Jesus Christ," Shepard said, shaking her head. "Far be it from me to judge the practices of your people, I suppose. So what's this evidence you have, then?"

"During my travels I began hearing reports of geth," Tali began. "Ever since they drove my people into exile, the geth have never ventured beyond the veil, so obviously I was curious. I tracked a patrol of geth to an uncharted world and waited for one to become separated from its unit. I then disabled it and removed its memory core."

"How did you manage to preserve the memory core?" Anderson asked. "I thought the geth fried them when they died, some kind of defence mechanism."

"My people created the geth," Tali disclosed. "We know everything there is to know about them, and we learn how to fight them and gain information from them. If you're quick, careful, and lucky, small caches of data can sometimes be saved. There wasn't much to take, but I salvaged something from its audio banks." At this, Tali brought up her omni-tool, and a voice recording started to play.

"_Eden Prime was a major victory. The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit._"

"That's Saren's voice!" Captain Anderson enthused. "This proves he was involved in the attack!"

"What's he talking about, though?" Shepard queried. "The Conduit? What is that?"

"It must be Prothean technology connected to the beacon in some way," Anderson surmised. "Maybe a weapon of some kind."

"Wait, there's more," Tali interrupted. "Saren wasn't working alone." She played the file again, Saren's voice repeated, but was followed by another, a female one.

"_And one step closer to the return of the Reapers._"

"I don't recognise that other voice," Udina admitted, "the one talking about the… Shepard?"

He had noticed Shepard, who was rubbing her temple with her fingers, her head inclined and her eyes closed tightly.

"Reapers… Reapers…" she was muttering under her breath.

"Shepard, are you okay?" Anderson asked as he stepped toward her.

"Yeah, I've heard that word before… or at least I think I have," she replied, in a whisper so only he could hear. "It has something to do with the vision the beacon gave me."

"She's fine," Anderson turned around and said to the group. The humans seemed concerned, but Tali's visor didn't give anything away, and Wrex was merely leaning against the wall near the door, looking almost bored. "Miss Zorah, do you know anything about these 'Reapers?'" Anderson asked.

"A-according to the memory core," Tali began, her voice sounding a little worried, "the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed fifty thousand years ago. The geth believe these Reapers hunted the Protheans to total extinction, and then vanished."

"Anderson," Shepard whispered, as Udina mentioned the farfetchedness of what the quarian had just told them. "The vision, it was the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers."

"You sure?"

"I'm certain."

Anderson's eyes narrowed to mere slits as he surveyed Shepard's face.

"The geth revere the Reapers as gods," Tali's voice chimed in from behind Anderson, "the pinnacle of non-organic life. And they believe Saren knows how to bring the Reapers back."

"The Council is not going to like this," Udina moaned.

"We'll them that we stop Saren, we stop the Reapers," Shepard piped up, stepping forward.

"I agree," Anderson said. "They need to know, but no matter what they think about the rest of this, those audio files prove Saren's a traitor."

"Yes," Udina agreed. "We need to present this to the Council immediately."

* * *

Udina had taken the recording of Saren's voice from Tali and had presented it to the Council, again in the Council Chambers. The turian Councillor had been the first to reply once it had finished, claiming it could be false, doctored. They then all agreed it should be verified by a team of C-Sec tech experts.

Conversation had quickly become boring while Udina, Anderson, Shepard, and her team waited for the verdict on one of the lower levels of the chambers. Everyone, apart from Wrex, was introspectively wondering and worrying, though they were confident the recording was genuine. Tali seemed incredibly nervous, but Shepard reassured her with a hand on her shoulder and a warm smile.

"I-I won't have to speak, will I?" The quarian asked as she wrung her hands.

"Not if you don't want to," Shepard replied. "Besides, Udina seems to love the sound of his own voice enough that I'm sure you won't have to."

"You don't seem to like that man very much."

"He's a… bosh'tet, was it?" Shepard said with a smile, and Tali giggled. "But he's on our side, which is very much the right side to be on, as far as I'm concerned. He's got that going for him, at least."

They were called back to the petitioner's stage after about an hour, Sparatus, the turian Councillor, spoke up first.

"The recording was confirmed to be genuine," he started, though he sounded crestfallen. "The evidence is irrefutable. Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status."

Shepard, without turning around, presented an upturned hand to whoever was behind her, and felt someone slap it in celebration.

"Now that we know this recording is genuine," the asari Councillor, Tevos, started, "I feel it is incumbent upon me to reveal the identity of the second voice. It is Matriarch Benezia. She is a powerful biotic who has many followers. She would be a formidable ally for anyone, none more so than Saren."

"I'm interested in these 'Reapers,'" said the salarian Councillor, Valern. "What do you know of them?"

"Only what was extracted from the geth's memory core," Anderson replied.

As Anderson relayed Tali's explanation of the Reapers to the Council, and what Saren might want with the Conduit, Shepard turned her head to the quarian, flashed another smile and winked.

"Do we even know what this Conduit is?" Valern asked as Shepard's attention turned back to the Council.

"It could be anything," Shepard said. "But if Saren thinks it can bring back the Reapers, we need to stop him."

"Listen to what you're saying!" Sparatus spat, disdainfully. "Saren wants to bring back machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? Impossible! It has to be. Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we've found no trace of their existence? If they were real, we'd have found something!"

"The Reapers are obviously just a myth. A–"

"'Obviously?'" Shepard interjected, a look of clear frustration on her face. "Obvious to whom? It was obvious to us that Saren was a fucking traitor, but your heads were so far up his ass you couldn't see the murderer for the Spectre. Now they're free from Saren's stinkhole, your necks are being strangled by your very own sphincters, and you aren't even entertaining the possibility that these Reapers are real. _Obviously_, our definitions of 'obviously' aren't the same!"

Another Shepard-made quell in debate rang through the hall, punctuated by gasps and muttering from the small but growing audience who spanned the balconies at the sides of the chamber.

"It seems to me that the Reapers are a legend Saren is using to bend the geth to his will," Valern said, rather austerely.

"Yes. This is different, Commander," Tevos said bitterly, her mouth nothing but a pencil-thin line when she wasn't talking. "You proved Saren betrayed the Council. We all agree he's using the geth to search for the Conduit, but we have no evidence that this Conduit involves these Reapers."

"Fine. Disagree with me all you want," Shepard said, "that doesn't stop the fact that Saren and this Conduit are dangerous. He needs to be stopped."

"Saren is a rogue Spectre on the run for his life," Sparatus began. "He no longer has the rights or resources of a Spectre. The Council has stripped him of his position."

"That is not good enough!" Udina bellowed.

"Are you trying to protect him, Councillor?" Shepard asked with a raised voice. "You seemed pretty upset after our evidence against him was confirmed. Saren needs to answer for his crimes! For all the lives lost on Eden Prime. For Nihlus, even!"

"There is no proof Saren killed Nih–"

"You're doing it again!" Shepard interrupted once more. "Stop making excuses for him! He was on Eden Prime, his _execution_ of Nihlus was witnessed first-hand."

"You know he's hiding somewhere in the Traverse," Udina said. "Send your fleet in!"

"A fleet cannot track one man," stated Valern.

"A Citadel fleet could secure the entire region," Udina offered. "Keep the geth from attacking any more of our colonies."

"Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems!" Sparatus spoke. "We won't be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few dozen human colonies," he added, with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Then I'll go. On my own, if I have to," Shepard said. "I'll find the prick and hang him from the rafters by his bollocks."

"Despite her colourful language, the Commander is right," Tevos agreed. "There is a way to stop Saren that doesn't require fleets or armies," she said, more to her fellow councillors than to anyone else.

"No!" Sparatus spat. "It's too soon. Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres."

"You sound just like Saren!" Shepard shouted, looking as if she was about to jump the chasm that separated her from the Council. "I've earned this and you know it!" She shook her head. "I want my 'best weapons,' for fuck's sake," she added under her breath. Williams and Alenko looked at each and smiled, stifling laughter.

Sparatus and Tevos shared a look, with Valern watching. Sparatus looked away, inclining his head, then nodded. The three then simultaneously tapped away at the terminals standing in front of them.

"Commander Shepard. Step forward," Tevos said.

Shepard shared a look with Anderson, who then nodded, a brief glimmer of a smile forming on the Captain's otherwise stoic face. Shepard then stepped forward, almost to the edge of the stage. As she did so, the muttering of the audience grew a little louder, some people running about, some on omni-tools typing messages, some clearly holding them up to capture footage of what was about to happen. There was movement all around, footsteps on the stairs behind Shepard, a continued murmuring that fell silent the moment Tevos spoke once more.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen," Valern began. "Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle. Those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol," Tevos again. "The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

"Spectres bear a great burden," now Sparatus. "They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defence. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are the first human Spectre, Commander," Tevos said. "This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."

Shepard bowed her head, though she didn't trust herself to say anything. Her heart was beating fast, her breathing a little shallow, though controlled. She never thought this would affect her so.

Once the meeting had adjourned and the Councillors had disappeared, a lone voice shouted 'woo, Shepard' from the balconies and then a polite smattering of applause started, which eventually died out to the excited muttering of a crowd, along with shuffled footsteps as they dispersed. Anderson had mentioned a Spectre office on the Presidium during the applause, and that he and Udina were going to set something up. With a proud pat on Shepard's shoulder, Anderson turned and followed Udina toward the hall's exit.

Shepard only had one thing on her mind as she turned to Williams and Alenko.

"Let's go get me my 'best weapons,'" she said with a wide-eyed and toothy grin.

* * *

Garrus had returned to his apartment on the Citadel, thanking Shepard for helping him and giving her his contact details for if she were ever on the Citadel again. He also made mention that C-Sec had started rounding up any known associates of Saren on the station, mainly for interrogation, just in case they were still working for him. Wrex did much the same as Garrus, though he mentioned he was going to find a barrel of ryncol to jump into. Tali was still with the group, having nowhere to really go, and Shepard reassured her they'd help her out once they had the time.

Shepard found herself alone in the Spectre office, her companions not allowed in. Monitors displaying news from all over the galaxy lined the corridor that led to a room with a large terminal set into a wall, and to her right, through a window, she could see a large firing range.

Shepard stepped toward the terminal and it flashed on at her proximity.

"_Calista Marie __Shepard. Spectre status recognised,_" chimed a computerised voice.

After closing a welcome message she scanned briefly, she found the menu option she was looking for: requisitions. Hundreds of options popped up on the screen, from armour to armour upgrades, visors, helmets, face masks, omni-tools and their upgrades, biotic amps, specialised ammunition, weapon mods, shield generators, and many more. Eventually, she found the option she wanted, though she knew she would go back to the others. She tapped the screen where it said weapons, then assault rifles, and had to take a step back. The list was huge, seemingly endless. Rifles of all shapes, sizes, colours and variations.

However, it wasn't the weapons themselves that drew her eye, instead the terminal was now displaying her credit balance in the top left corner.

"Damn. Those fuckers work fast," Shepard said to herself. It was more credits than she'd ever had in her life. Not a ridiculous amount, but more than enough. Much more.

She selected a few different rifles and purchased them, revelling in the fact that her balance barely took a hit. After buying a few more items, some sniper rifles, shotguns, pistols and submachine guns, a few disparate weapon mods, some omni-tools, a bunch of new shield generators that were more powerful than the Alliance standard, and a visor, she stepped away from the terminal, and it shut itself off.

"Holy fucking shit," she announced to the waiting group as she left the Spectre office.

"Well," spoke Williams, "are you rich? What did you buy?"

"Oh no," Shepard said, shaking her head and smiling widely. "You're just going to have to wait and see. Everything's being delivered to the Normandy. Come on, let's go. I want to see the look on Grieco's face as he unloads it all. He's going to shit."

* * *

As Shepard, along with her group, made her way to the docking bay where the Normandy was docked, she was suddenly flooded with mixed emotions. Now she was a Spectre, she didn't know what was going to happen. She thought she would probably be saying goodbye to everyone soon, with Anderson going off with the Normandy. Udina mentioned she'd need her own ship and crew now, and while that prospect excited her, she had felt at home on the Normandy in only the few days she was aboard her, and one of them was spent almost comatose. She was probably going to have to say goodbye to Williams and Alenko, too. The three had struck up a rapport quickly, not only as a friends, but as a squad. She was sad her relationship with the Normandy would be nothing more than a dalliance.

As they finally got to the docking bay, Shepard smiled to herself as she saw a bunch of crates being loaded onto the Normandy via its cargo bay. She gestured toward them and whispered to Alenko. "New toys!"

Tali had almost sprinted to the railing of the walkway to look at the Normandy. She walked up and down the length of it, her head bobbing up and down as she took in as much of it as she could. Shepard couldn't help but be reminded of herself as she watched the enthusiastic quarian hanging around near the doors to the cargo bay of the ship and peering into it, looking desperate to step aboard.

Her attention was then turned to Udina and Anderson, who had just appeared from the docking tunnel that connected the Normandy to the walkway.

"Ah, Shepard, you're here," Udina announced as he spotted the commander. "We have some big news. Captain Anderson has just been saying goodbye to the crew. He's stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is now yours."

Shepard turned to Anderson, wide-eyed and confused. "Captain?"

"She's quick and quiet and you know the crew. Perfect ship for a Spectre, and I know how much you love her. I couldn't possibly tear you away from her," Anderson added with a wry smile.

"No… this…" Shepard stuttered. "The Normandy is your ship, Captain."

"Nonsense. She was yours the minute you stepped aboard, we just didn't know it yet. It's perfect for you, fits you like a glove, and there's no one in the Alliance who'd know how to use it better than you. That was apparent before, but now you're a Spectre, it's even more obvious," Anderson said, almost sternly, as if reprimanding Shepard.

"I-I… I don't know what to say," Shepard stammered.

"There's a first time for everything, I suppose," Anderson said, with the tiniest hint of a grin. "Just promise me you'll do me proud."

"I-I will, sir," she said, and saluted.

"We've had reports of geth in the Attican Beta cluster," Udina began. "Chances are they're there looking for the Conduit. It might be a good place to start."

"Investigate the cluster," Anderson said, "find out what Saren is after, and maybe you can figure out where the Conduit is before he can."

_We stop Saren, we stop the Reapers_, Shepard told herself. She knew what the real threat was, she was certain the Reapers were real, but she was reticent to display her belief any more than she had. She was tired of people doubting her instincts, and after Saren, she was no longer going to doubt them herself.

"We have one more lead," spoke Udina. "Matriarch Benezia has a daughter. She's a scientist who specialises in the Protheans. We're not certain that she's involved with Saren and Benezia's search for the Conduit, but we can't rule it out. However, seeing as she's a Prothean expert, and as far as we can tell, the Conduit is Prothean, her knowledge might help in our search. Her name is Liara. Dr Liara T'Soni. All we know of her location is that she is somewhere in the Artemis Tau cluster on an archaeological dig on one of its worlds."

"I think we should start nice and easy, get us up and running. We'll find this doctor first, then we'll go after the geth," Shepard said.

"Sounds good, but it's your decision, Shepard," Anderson said. "We'll advise you best we can from the Citadel, but you don't answer to us any more."

"I have a meeting to get to," Udina said. "I will speak to you later, Anderson." With that he left the docking bay.

"Well, my posting as your XO didn't last long, did it?" Shepard said to Anderson.

"I can think of worse ways to relinquish my command. This is a damn good thing, Shepard. If anything, you having your own command and your own ship is overdue."

"Thank you, Captain. That means a lot coming from you."

"Don't go getting soppy on me, Shepard," the captain warned with a smirk. "Right then, I'll leave you to your ship."

"Captain," Shepard said before Anderson could take a step. "My first act as commanding officer of the Normandy is going to be announcing a night of shore leave. Come for a drink and a proper Alliance send off. We'll be at Flux at 2100."

Anderson smiled and nodded. "I'll be there. First round's on you."

* * *

Shepard had filled Tali in on the happenings on the docking bay, seeing as she was too busy on the other end of the bay looking at the Normandy to listen, and had let the quarian aboard the ship as a guest to view the inside. Shepard announced shore leave, telling the crew to meet at Flux at 2100 if they wanted, for Anderson's send off, but cautioning them that it was just one night and not to get too crazy, as they were starting out early tomorrow. The quarian seemed nervous as Shepard took her around the CIC, some of the crew yet to leave eyeing her suspiciously without Shepard noticing.

Williams and Alenko had gone off to get changed, with Williams moaning about her dress blues chafing her. Alenko said his were fine, but then Williams pointed out he didn't have breasts. Shepard disagreed.

The commander had been awake for over twenty four hours now, with the last few of them spent running around the Citadel, so she collapsed on her bed in her new quarters, what only a few hours ago had been Anderson's room. She had left Tali on the engineering deck speaking to Engineer Adams about the drive core.

After what seemed like only a second, but was in actual fact an hour, the door to her room chimed. Shepard woke and pushed herself off the bed, strode over to the terminal and pushed the button to open the door. Ashley walked in, now dressed in her BDUs, her hair now down around her shoulders.

"Commander, are we going shopping?" Williams asked, as Shepard stretched and yawned. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Yeah, I was just having a nap. I'm all sweaty now," she said, tugging at the front of her dress blues, pulling them away from her sticky and damp skin. "I feel disgusting. Let me go have a shower and get changed and I'll meet you by the airlock in about twenty minutes. Oh, and get Tali, we'll take her with."

After showering and slipping into casual wear that consisted of a black t-shirt with an N7 sigil on the right breast, tight bell-bottom jeans, some black boots and a jacket, Shepard met Williams and Tali near the bridge of the ship.

"Joker sleeping, Gunny?" Shepard asked as she noticed the empty pilot's seat.

"Yeah…" Williams answered. "You do scrub up well, you know, Commander. I'm glad you're coming along, I could do with some fashion tips."

"What? I just throw all this crap on," Shepard replied.

"Yeah, right," Williams said as she rolled her eyes. Tali sighed.

"You all right, Tali?" Shepard asked.

"I… I am fine. Are we going to get going, then?" The quarian answered as she made for the door to the airlock.

Shepard and Williams traded a guilty look. It had been rather insensitive to stand in front of a quarian talking about clothes. Though quarians could, and did, customise the look of their enviro-suits, it was still no real substitute for being able to wear whatever they wanted. Not only that, but it emphasised the fact they were trapped inside their suits, a constant barrier between them and the world, a constant reminder of the mistakes of their ancestors, mistakes they were paying for dearly.

Tali had perked up by the time they got to the markets on the Presidium, though Shepard was still a little wary about how safe the quarian was. The damage had been done to Saren, and his associates on the Citadel were in C-Sec custody, so she didn't feel the need to be as cautious as she had done earlier, but she still kept herself on edge, ready to get in the line of fire. Her M-3 Predator pistol was on her hip under her jacket, her shield generator was on, and she kept Tali in her sight at all times.

The three noticed the odd stare from people of any and all species as they walked past. Shepard thought, at first, they were looking at the group as a whole; two human women with a quarian girl going shopping wasn't exactly a normal sight, but not the kind of thing that should draw such ogling. Eventually it clicked for Shepard - the stares were directed at her. Soon enough, and confirming her suspicions, Shepard saw a news monitor on a wall showing a grainy vid of her Spectre induction ceremony, along with a picture of her younger self from not long after the Blitz, with the Star of Terra draped around her neck. It was playing on a loop with other news pieces, and whenever it came on, she could hear whoops and hollers from human voices.

They had found a ship dealer in a small nook of the markets, and Tali was happily chatting away to the volus salesman while Shepard and Williams kept an eye on her. Williams was sitting on a railing that overlooked a small garden while Shepard leant against it next to her.

"So, Ashley," Shepard said, her grin mischievous, "Alenko, then, eh?"

"What? What do you mean?" Williams replied, frowning.

"Come on, don't tell me you haven't noticed."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Commander," Williams sternly said, her eyes closed.

"Hey, it's my ship now, and you're under my command. I think the rules on fraternisation are a little… frigid," she said with a laugh. "You're both adults, you're both professionals. Knock yourself out. Or each other."

Williams sat stoically for a little while, not giving any signs she had even heard Shepard, let alone acknowledged what she had said. After a few moments, she spoke up. "You ever been involved with someone in your crew, Skipper?"

Shepard sniffed with dry mirth. "I've never really been _involved_ with anyone."

Williams snapped her head toward the commander. "Wait, are you telling me you're a virgin?"

"I wish! No. Nothing but drunken fumbles, one night stands, though. Stupid stuff. Young and horny. I just lost interest after the Blitz."

"The Blitz?" Williams said, her face a look of pure unbelieving. "But that was nearly… 7 years ago, Skipper. Please don't tell me it's been that long." Shepard merely shrugged. "Holy crap, Shepard. We gotta get you laid."

"Nuh-uh," Shepard replied, frowning. "I'm done with all that crap. It's just a distraction, even more so now that we're going after Saren."

"Oh, so you can play at Cupid for me, but I can't do the same for you?"

"Hey, we're Alliance. It's always been 'do as I say and not as I do.' Besides, if I wanted to, I could sort myself out."

"I bet you already do," Williams supplied, with a smirk even more mischievous than Shepard's earlier one.

Shepard grabbed Williams' shoulder and pulled it back over the railing, causing Williams to nearly fall backwards as she squealed and grabbed for a hold. Shepard laughed.

"I bet you're dying for Alenko to make you scream like that," she said as stepped out of arms reach in front of Ashley, away enough from incoming retribution.

Williams kicked at Shepard with a growl, causing Shepard to back away laughing, but bumped into Tali, who had been approaching the pair from behind the commander.

"Oh. Sorry, Tali," Shepard said, still laughing.

"Are all Systems Alliance soldiers like this or is it just you two?" The quarian asked. It was half a playful admonishment and half a genuine question.

"Hey," Williams said, jumping down off the railing and sounding slightly offended. "Don't drag me down with Shepard."

"Kicking and screaming, if I have to," replied Shepard. "Did they have anything, Tali?" She then asked the quarian, in reference to the ship dealer.

"Yes, but they're far too expensive," Tali replied, her head inclined toward the floor.

"How much are they?" Shepard asked, starting past Tali toward the dealership and pulling out her credit chit.

"What? No… Shepard…"

"What? If I can't buy my friend a gift, then what use is all this money?"

"Friend?" The word had caught Tali off-guard. "Shepard, no. I'm planting my heels. I will not accept it. I need to do this myself."

Shepard stopped and turned around to look at the quarian, who now stood with her arms crossed. "If you say so. Just don't say I never tried to help you," she said with a grin.

"I would never say that," Tali replied, sounding aggrieved. "You've done more for me today than anyone has in my entire life, and you still want to do more. Why?"

Shepard was taken aback. The quarian sounded genuinely confused, and a little sad, too. "Tali…"

"I don't understand. You called me a friend. Ever since I arrived on the Citadel, I've been ignored, turned away, insulted just for being a quarian, shot, betrayed and nearly killed," she sobbed, her every word sounding more despondent than the last. "Then you come along and… and… why are you doing this? Why are you being so nice to me?" Her visor betrayed nothing, but her body language and voice made it clear she was crying.

Shepard looked sickened and furious. To hear what the quarian had been through, and how she had been treated disgusted her. To hear the pain in her voice broke the commander's heart, and made her feel more angry than she had in a very long time.

"Maybe it's because I like you," Shepard answered with a growl. "Maybe because you've shown me no reason not to treat you with you anything but kindness, but I don't _need_ a God damn reason, Tali." She stepped toward the girl and put her hands on her shoulders. "They're not worth it, cariño," she said, her voice much softer now. "There are two words I live by whenever someone treats me badly, and they've helped me through a lot of shit. Do you want to know what they are?" Tali nodded her head timidly. "'Fuck 'em.'"

Tali chuckled and sniffed, then took a deep stuttering breath.

"You okay, now? You understand?" The commander asked.

"Yes. Thank you, Shepard. I… I am sorry."

"Fuck that. No apologies. Come on. Let's go get the Queen of Sheba over there her clothes."

"Hey!" Ashley said, as Shepard put her arm around Tali and started walking.

* * *

Shepard arrived at Flux with Tali and Williams, fashionably late and with Williams wearing her newly acquired casual clothing. There was a cheer from a large section near the bar, with two dozen faces staring at them, glasses and arms raised. It was surprising to Shepard, she knew the Normandy was fully staffed, but she'd never seen the crew all together like this, and there was a lot of them. Anderson was there, and he was already a little drunk, much more than any of the crew, and much more than the commander had ever seen him. As Shepard reached the bar, Anderson announced that the drinks were on her, to another loud cheer. The volus behind the bar laughed heartily.

Shepard abstained from drinking herself, though it took some effort. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she felt a lot of weight on her shoulders, and she'd been bearing the strain since just before arriving at Eden Prime. A drink would just take the edge off, but she didn't want to risk lowered inhibitions that could lead to more drink. Thankfully, and to their credit, none of the crew pressured her.

She took in all the happy faces of her new crew, seeing some she hadn't seen before, and finding out that there wasn't just a single Ensign Draven, but two, and that they were identical twins. She spent some time talking to the two girls, admitting to their delight that she hadn't noticed they were two different people, and joking that she'd make one of them shave their heads so she could tell them apart.

Shepard also noticed a young woman sitting at a table with some of the crew, but not engaging in any of the conversation, slowly sipping on a cocktail. She approached her and asked her name, which was Monica Negulesco, and recognised her as one of the command deck technicians. At first the woman was shy, but she eventually opened up, proudly explaining that her surname was Romanian. They were joined by Private Jenkins, who, in his slightly inebriated form, apologised profusely to Shepard for, in his words, 'being a fucking pervert,' referring to the time the commander had caught him looking at her as she changed into her hard-suit. Shepard laughed and accepted the apology and after a few minutes of light-hearted conversation between the three, she excused herself from the table, and turned around to see Jenkins say something into Negulesco's ear, who laughed loudly at it.

Tali was sitting at a table, engaged in an enthusiastic conversation with Engineer Adams and Joker, and Williams and Alenko were stood at the bar, with Williams lightly touching Alenko's shoulder every now and then. Shepard merely stood back, leaning against the wall at the end of the bar, watching the crew, allowing them to be carefree. After a while, Dr Chakwas walked over to her and handed her a drink.

"Don't worry," she said as Shepard eyed the drink. "It's non-alcoholic. I've noticed you've not been drinking, but you can at least quench your thirst." Shepard took a sip, and nodded thanks to the doctor. "How have you been? The visions haven't been giving you any bother, have they?"

"You know about the visions?"

"Anderson told me. As the ship's Doctor, don't you think that kind of information is important for me to know?"

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry. And no, I've been fine. Back to normal, now."

"That's good. Just keep me up to date," she said as she leaned her back against the wall next to Shepard. "So why are you over here on your own?"

Shepard sighed. "I'm just not really feeling it. We're about to step in the shit, I know it. But they don't need to know," she said, gesturing to the crew. "Not at the moment, anyway." The doctor didn't reply, merely letting the commander speak. "The worst thing about it, though, is that I'm now responsible for all their lives." Shepard shook her head and laughed drily. "They don't know how utterly fucked they are."


	5. Subterranean Homesick Alien

**V  
****Subterranean Homesick Alien  
**

* * *

_Rent flesh… maw toothed with metal… synthetic instruments… muscle and sinew… thick gore… mutilated… agony… fire… dead everywhere… ancient evil._

Green eyes snapped open, the 'dream' forgotten.

It took a second for Shepard to work out where she was, but a flash of memories from the night before led her back to the hotel room on the Citadel she had just woken up in. She took in the awkward sight of Tali sleeping on the bed next to Shepard's, still in her enviro-suit and above the covers.

"Tali," Shepard spoke to the slumbering quarian after she had pulled herself out of bed. "Come on, querido," she said, as Tali moaned in her sleep.

Shepard gave up trying to wake the girl, figuring it wasn't like Tali needed to shower, or get ready in any other way, as her marvellous suit did all that for her at the touch of an omni-tool.

As Shepard showered, she remembered the last few minutes of the night before. The asari receptionist had told her, as she was booking herself and Tali in, that quarians weren't welcome in the hotel. The commander, for the first time, pulled out her metaphorical Spectre card. "On Spectre authority," she said to herself as she stood in the shower, letting the hot water wash over her. She figured she could get used to using that line, especially if it meant stepping on the toes of bigotry.

Tali was up by the time Shepard left the bathroom, sitting on her bed and tapping away at her omni-tool, her suit making sounds that suggested it was running a cleaning cycle on its quarian wearer, just as Shepard had thought.

"Tikkun woke, Shepard," Tali said as she noticed the commander.

"What?" Shepard was confused by the phrase.

"Oh, sorry. Good morning? Is that what humans say?"

"Ah, yeah. Morning, Tali. What's 'Tikkun woke?'" Shepard said as she pulled on her jeans.

"It's a morning greeting that has been shortened over time. The full phrase is 'I hope Tikkun woke you well.' 'Tikkun' being Rannoch's sun."

"I quite like that. It's nice. Tikkun woke. Tikkun woke," Shepard repeated to herself as she sat down on her bed, trying out the expression.

"Erm, Shepard," Tali hesitantly said, after Shepard finally stopped the chant of her new idiom, "can I… come with you?"

"Where to?" Shepard idly said as she tied her boots.

"To… to fight Saren."

Shepard's head snapped toward Tali, her expression surprised and disconcerted, the tying of her boots forgotten. "What? No."

"Please, Shepard," Tali pleaded. "I-I can fight, you saw me in the alley, you know what I can do!"

"No, definitely not," Shepard said, frowning while somehow still wide-eyed. "It's going to be far, _far_ too dangerous."

"We'll be fighting the geth, and I'd bet I know much more about fighting the geth than you do."

"I'm not having this conversation, Tali."

"So, what? You're just going to leave me on the Citadel?"

"Do _not_ try and guilt me into taking you with me, Tali!" Shepard shouted, standing up and leaning over the quarian, pointing a finger at the girl's visor. "You're just a kid, and I am _not_ responsible for you."

"I've told you, I'm an adult!" Tali said, raising her own voice. "I've had military training with quarian commandos, I know how to take orders and I will not put you or your team in any danger!"

"I'm not worried about that, I'm worried about putting _you_ in danger!" Shepard said, her anger now dissipated somewhat. She turned around and walked to the other side of the room, as if to escape the argument.

"Shepard, please," Tali begged. "This is what I want. This is my Pilgrimage now, I know it. Helping you to stop Saren and the geth. I can't just turn my back on this, what would that say about me?"

Shepard sighed as she sat back down on the bed, hunched forward with her eyes closed, her hands gripping her knees. She had fully intended on helping Tali with her Pilgrimage, though Tali had turned down the offer of a ship, and Shepard now had no idea how else she could help the quarian. Without Tali, Shepard would not be in the position to seek Saren and bring him to justice. Without Tali, she would not be a Spectre. Without Tali, the Council might have let Saren get away with everything. Shepard needed to leave the Citadel as soon as possible, to find this T'Soni woman, and Tali had given her the perfect way of doing that as well as helping the quarian with her Pilgrimage.

"Ah, shit." Shepard stood up and strode over to Tali. "Stand up, girl." Tali obeyed. "I am your commanding officer now," Shepard said as she leaned into Tali's visor, her face a mere inch away from it. "You obey any and all orders I give you immediately, to the point, and without question. Understood?" Tali nodded. "I didn't hear anything, soldier!"

"Understood, Commander," the quarian answered, the joy in her voice readily apparent, if somewhat stifled.

"You get yourself killed and I will personally come to the afterlife and put a boot up your ass so far you'll be tasting leather for the rest of eternity."

* * *

After reluctantly recruiting Tali, Shepard had an idea.

"Shepard. I didn't think I'd be hearing from you again so soon," Garrus said through Shepard's comms implant as the commander stood in the hotel lobby, her crew trotting past her and out the door.

"What would you say to dropping everything and coming with me to get Saren?" Shepard said, not wasting time on greetings or platitudes. It took Garrus a few seconds to reply.

"I'd say, 'when are we heading out?'"

"Now. If you can get your stuff together and get to the Normandy as soon as possible, that'd be fantastic. We can sort out other stuff while we're up in the black. Tali'Zorah's coming, too."

"What about Wrex?"

"I was just about to call him."

* * *

The major problem of having shore leave with the crew of a vessel such as the Normandy was sleeping arrangements. There were only a few sleeper pods on the ship, nowhere near enough for the whole crew. The simple thing to do was to send a few people back to the Normandy, and for the rest to invade a cheap hotel. Still, it probably took the crew longer to recover from shore leave, due to messed up sleeping patterns, than it did to recover from a mission.

On this occasion, those who volunteered to return to the Normandy took a very intoxicated Captain Anderson with them, dropping him off in his temporary apartment on the Citadel's Presidium, before leaving for the ship. But it was now up to Shepard to get the rest of the crew back to the ship, too, though she had help from Navigator Pressly, Shepard's new Executive Officer, as well as Alenko, who was in charge of the ship's Marine detail.

Garrus was already waiting at the docking bay by the time Shepard got there, a couple of carry packs was all he had brought with him. Wrex turned up not too long after. Once all personnel was logged aboard, which always took longer than it should, the Normandy was ready to leave, but there was still the issue of Jenkins' body in the cargo bay. After a quiet, respectful and quick ceremony, Jenkins was taken off ship by a cadre of Alliance officers stationed on the Citadel. His family had survived the attack on Eden Prime, and he was going to be delivered to them.

As the ship took off, Shepard, now having changed back into a clean set of dress blues, stood on the small promontory overlooking the galaxy map on the CIC of the Normandy. She was revelling in the fact that she was now the commanding officer of her very own ship. Not quite the captain, but that was merely a technicality by now, she thought. Besides, she was the CO of the Normandy, the most advanced ship in the Systems Alliance, as well as a Spectre. She found herself in an incredibly enviable position, not that she cared for the envies of others.

"Joker, set a course for the Artemis Tau cluster," Shepard said, unable to stop the grin on her face.

"Aye, aye, Commander. Intercoms are open. You wanna speak to the crew?"

The grin disappeared from Shepard's face at that, and she steeled herself and cleared her throat. "To all souls aboard the Systems Alliance Space Vehicle Normandy, this is Commander Shepard speaking. We are now embarking on possibly the most important mission in humanity's history since Jon Grissom first went through the Charon relay.

"I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I have a plan, because I don't. We're flying blind and against the wind. While I for one like to know exactly what I'm facing at any and all times, there's still that thrill in the challenge. Saren must be stopped, and there's nobody better equipped to take down the son of a bitch than us. We're hard as nails motherfuckers and we don't take no for an answer, we don't take shit from anyone, and we sure as fuck aren't gonna take what happened on Eden Prime lying down.

"We may be few but we are many. We may be unprepared but we are ready. We may be small but we are immense. We are the Normandy, ladies and gentlemen, and we will win this."

* * *

"That was quite a speech, Shepard," Garrus remarked as he and the commander stood in the mess hall.

"Eh, I can do better," she answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well it got the crew's attention. Everybody stopped what they were doing and listened. They seemed pretty… uh… pumped up? Is that the right expression?" The turian asked.

"It is. Thanks, Garrus. I think I needed to hear that."

"I've been speaking to Grieco, the requisitions officer. Nice guy, but he seems a little distracted, something to do with all the boxes in the cargo bay."

"Oh shit, my 'best weapons.' I totally forgot!"

Shepard sent a ship-wide message through the intercoms calling for Williams, Alenko, Tali and the Normandy's marine detail to go to the cargo bay. Wrex was already there, and together they stood gathered around the cases, eagerly eyeing them.

"Merry Christmas, soldiers. Dig in," Shepard said, gesturing to the crew.

The assembled men and women began opening the various weapon cases and boxes of other items Shepard had purchased from the Spectre office on the Citadel. They were piled high on the floor of the cargo bay, and Shepard strode around taking a look at all her new toys. This wasn't standard practice for the Alliance, but Shepard wasn't exactly your standard Alliance officer, the Normandy not your standard space vessel, and the mission they were on was anything but standard.

"I bought a few top of the range shield generators, so take one each," Shepard said, smirking. "Getting shot isn't fucking nice, so I expect a thank you note for every slug they stop."

"Shepard, who's this visor for?" Williams asked, holding up a small metal case.

"Who'd you think?" The commander answered as she practically snatched the case from the woman. "Hey, Garrus. Look." Shepard said as she held the box up for the turian to see. "We'll be like identical twins!"

"That's a good model, Shepard. Kuwashii don't mess about with their visors, and you'll need all the help you can get."

"All right, I'm the smart mouth on this ship, Vakarian."

Just then, a rifle someone had unpacked caught Shepard's eye.

Its case lay discarded on the floor near the weapon maintenance table, slightly dented in places, scratched and worn, with a light layer of dust coating it. Shepard picked it up by its sides, as the handle had broken off, and hoisted it onto the table. She ran her hands over the gun's grazed and slightly faded logo that bore the distinctive shape of the weapon, her fingers pushing the dust away. She flipped the latches and opened the case, revealing the parts of the gun arranged neatly in the case's foam, all in pristine condition. Williams had come over to see.

"A Mattock? Those things are obsolete," the woman snobbishly said.

"This is the rifle that saved Elysium, Gunny."

"What?"

"I used one of these in the Skyllian Blitz. They should have put my Star of Terra around the neck of whoever invented it," Shepard said, as she began unpacking the parts. "I just picked it up off the floor. Lost it after, probably got destroyed. I didn't even know the name of it at the time. It was just a rifle, but fuck me what a rifle."

Her purchases forgotten behind her, Shepard assembled the weapon. It was heavy, just like she remembered, and as she looked down its sights, she closed her eyes. She was back on Elysium, slavers and pirates dropping with every slug, with every pull of the trigger.

Shepard didn't even remember buying it, she would have known what it was when she saw its name on the Spectre terminal. Perhaps it had been placed with her other purchases by mistake - the most glorious of errors. She didn't believe in serendipity, but this rifle was there for her when she had needed it the most, and here it was again, just as she was embarking on the biggest operation of her life.

Her heart soared.

* * *

Navigator Pressly had narrowed down the Knossos system as the most likely place the asari doctor would be, the world of Therum being almost the only inhabitable planet in any of the charted systems of the Artemis Tau cluster. The fact that the planet was known to have Prothean architecture, along with a small and predominantly human mining colony meant it was almost certain Dr T'Soni would be there. Because of the navigator's quick work, there was little for Shepard to do on the CIC in the five or so hours it would take to get to the planet.

Udina had forwarded Shepard a dossier of this Liara T'Soni, and the commander was sitting at her terminal in her room reading it. The dossier said the asari doctor attended the University of Serrice, has had several works published in scientific journals, a few dissertations on the Protheans that gained 'minor notoriety' on the extranet - it didn't explain why - and not much else. Not a picture, a psychological profile, nothing. Either Udina was holding back, or this was all he could gather. There weren't any clues as to where this woman's allegiance may lie.

Sighing and pulling herself away from the terminal, Shepard stretched, not quite able to shake off the feeling of sleep all day. Her body yearned for more, but she knew it would do nothing to help her. Not really. She felt wound so tight, and knew the inevitable snap was coming.

She thought back to the conversation she had with Ashley on the Citadel last night, about relationships. She had lied a little to the woman. Though she did indeed believe they'd be nothing but a distraction, the fact was that she craved… something, someone. She was sick to the teeth of feeling lonely.

She had become wary of men in the Alliance, didn't want to become a notch on the bedpost of some asshole so he could boast to his friends how he had 'screwed the Hero of the Blitz.' Almost everyone knew her name, so she had to be careful. Then there were the guys who seemed to hero worship her. Pointless. A few women had even made a pass at her, and she surprised herself when she entertained the thought, before telling herself they were just like the men; horny and with minds on their bedpost notches. Really it was because the thought of being with another woman terrified the living shit out of her.

What she wanted, needed, was someone to see her for Calista, and not for Lieutenant Commander Shepard, Star of Terra. There was one person who saw her like that, at least.

"Hey, Mom."

"_Callie! Holy fucking shit, Callie, a God damn_ Spectre? _Why didn't you tell me you were up for Spectre candidacy?_" Hannah Shepard replied to her daughter's call, sounding a little angry.

"I didn't know until about five minutes after I last spoke with you," Calista replied.

"_I've got to tell you, with Eden Prime… I couldn't get any intel on whether you'd made it off the world or not. It was like Elysium all over again. Next thing I know, someone's telling me they've made you a fucking Spectre!"_

"I would have called, but it was hectic here. I've got some good news, though. Mom, they've given me the Normandy."

Hannah sounded like she'd collapsed on the floor, a fairly loud bump sounding through the terminal.

"Mom?"

"_All your life_…" Hannah said, her voice was slightly strained, as if she was holding back tears. "_I knew you were going to do it one day, first time I saw you in your uniform._"

Calista smiled. "Are you crying, Mom?"

"_No_," she sobbed. "_All you've done in your life is make me proud, but this… this is just… it's all you've ever wanted_."

"Yeah, well I'm not stopping now. This is just the start."

"_Of course_," Hannah said, with her usual resolve returning. "_I wouldn't expect any less from my Calista_. _You're going to get that turian asshole, I know it_."

"Thanks, but… Mom, can we just talk for a while… about normal stuff?"

The mother and the daughter talked together for an hour or so, Calista happily chatting about anything but the military, the Normandy, or the mission. She had almost forgotten about everything until she said goodbye to her mother, the silence that permeated the room brought back with it the stress, the pressures… the loneliness. Still, her mother had the canny knack of making her laugh loudly and with abandon almost every time they spoke, and that interaction had been particularly enjoyable.

* * *

As the Normandy had arrived and maintained an orbit around Therum, its crew scanning the world for the Prothean architecture that might hold Dr T'Soni's dig site, Shepard was finally back to having something to actually do. Back on the CIC, she was co-ordinating the effort to find the doctor's location.

"Commander, we've got some ships about fifty miles south of Nova Yekaterinburg. Not human," one of the command deck technicians said.

"They could be asar–"

"Commander, they're geth! I've just picked up their signatures," another technician spoke up.

"The fu… well, either this asari is under attack or the geth are with the bitch. Geth ships fifty miles out from a human colony? I don't fucking like it. Is that geth dreadnought with them?"

"Negative, Commander. It seems to be a small detachment of dropships."

"Okay, good. What's the lay of the land directly below the ships?"

"It's a mine shaft, Commander," Navigator Pressly answered. "There looks to be a road custom-built for a Mako leading up to it, too."

Shepard smiled. "You're one step ahead of me, then, Navigator. Yeah, that's where our asari is. I'd bet my left ass cheek on it."

* * *

Dr Liara T'Soni had been at the dig site on Therum for a week now. Its miners had unearthed a Prothean facility in the depths of the world, and despite the technology inside it still working, it was not patent as to what the facility's purpose was. That answer, the doctor presumed, lay embedded in the rock hundreds, possibly even thousands of feet below her.

It was fascinating exploring the ruins, noting how remarkable Prothean architecture was, how it had come through being swallowed by thousands of years worth of magma, cooling into the igneous rock that now consumed the building. It still stood, looking pristine and, Liara guessed, how it had done when it was originally built. If anything, the materials used to build it might prove useful. Perhaps their discovery might allow for similar substances to be invented. Still, that was not what she was here for. She had been so hopeful when she got the commission from the University of Serrice, but so far the 'ruins,' if they could be called that, had not yet yielded anything new. No beacons, no artefacts, no clues as to how or why the Protheans had vanished.

Dr T'Soni's theories on the ancient race's disappearance had garnered little traction in her field, but the asari kept on, not feeling even remotely disheartened by the scepticism shown in her studies. Her enthusiasm for the past never waned an inch. That was her strength, she believed; her obduracy whenever she set her mind to something.

That obduracy was shown now in the literal sense by the energy field she was trapped in, a Prothean security device that she had activated to keep that krogan and the geth away from her. She had been restricted by it now for hours, long enough for the panic that she may never get out of it to start coursing through her. It was only when she started to entertain the possibility that her life would end here that she heard the mining elevator screech to a stop nearby. Footsteps, the sound of an angry female voice, and then an armoured form dropped as if from nowhere right in front of her, landing with a practised roll before raising a rifle to her shoulder and surveying the dig site's camp set in a cavern in front of the ruins.

Liara watched the figure, too shocked to speak. It was definitely female, so most likely an asari. Perhaps the University had sent a commando team to rescue her? But the armour she was wearing wasn't the asari norm, and nor was the helmet.

"Uh… hello," Liara said, now almost certain the asari was here to help her. The woman turned around sharply, her weapon raised. She stared right into Liara's eyes with her own bright green ones through a thick glass visor, her skin a strange, bluish tone the likes of which the doctor had never seen before. Coincidentally, she even had the same brow markings Liara herself had, along with a smattering of faint dots that ran over both cheeks and her nose. Liara felt the tiniest flutter in her stomach when their gazes met, a little fear, a little relief, and a little of something else she that was incredibly unfamiliar. "C-can you help me?"

"That all depends," the woman replied as she lowered her rifle a little. Her voice a thick and throaty contralto, with a resonance that managed to remain steadfastly feminine. It caused another flutter in Liara. "You Liara T'Soni?"

"Y-yes! Please, I am trapped in here," she stammered, desperate to move her aching limbs, desperate to be free of what she had momentarily thought was her fate.

"Are you working for Saren?" The woman accused.

Liara frowned, confused. "N-no. Why would I…" her expression changed, from puzzlement to realisation. "I have not spoken to Benezia for years. Please, can you release me? The geth are here with a krogan, they wish to take me away, though I do not know why. Can you believe it, geth outside the Perseus Veil?"

The woman eyed her suspiciously. "What is this crap?" She asked, as she kicked lightly at the obstruction of light between them.

"It is a Prothean barrier curtain. I knew it would keep me safe from the geth. When I turned it on, I must have hit something I was not supposed to. It trapped me in here. The control for it is behind me. You need to get past the barrier curtain to release me, but I do not know how you'll get in here."

"I'll find a way… you just… hang arou–" A corner of the woman's mouth curled into the tiniest of smiles. "Just… don't worry."

The woman looked up at the platform she had dropped down from, and gestured toward it. One after the other, three more forms dropped in front of Liara; a turian, who turned his head and nodded at the doctor; a krogan, who landed heavily on his feet and strode off; and a quarian, who seemed to wave off the asari's gesture for help down from the platform before landing a little unevenly before Liara. She straightened herself up, gave a little wave to the doctor and padded off after the asari rescuer and her diverse team.

What were a turian, a krogan, and a quarian doing with an asari commando? It was incredibly perplexing to Liara. A little worrying, but at least they seemed to be here to help her. At least, that was the impression the woman had given her.

An explosion shook the ruins. Though Liara did not feel it suspended in the Prothean security bubble, she certainly heard it. Not long after, the sound of footsteps behind her had her struggling in vain to look around at them.

"What's up, Doc?" She heard, the voice was of the asari rescuer.

"You did it?!" Liara said, one part an exclamation of surprise and two parts a question.

"Mining laser. That shit was cool."

Liara barely understood the second sentence she had heard. What did chilled excrement have to do a mining laser? "O-of course. That terminal to your left should shut down the containment field."

"No sudden movements, doctor. Understand?" The woman said as she tapped the terminal. Liara fell to the ground, landing hard on her knees as the muscles in her legs gave way. Her hands only just managed stop her face from meeting with the hard floor.

"Stand up slowly and keep facing that direction. I've got my rifle trained on you."

"I-I am not armed," Liara said as she raised herself off the ground. This was making her nervous.

"You'll forgive me for not believing you. Raise your hands."

A hand slid down Liara's side, the touch surprising her. It was quick and appropriate, and then moved to the other side before patting down her legs.

"Why do you not scan me?" Liara asked.

"Tali's doing that now," the woman replied, "but not all weapons show up, I'm afraid."

"I understand. I am a biotic, I feel I should warn you. I will not harm you, though."

"Thanks for the intel, but I guess I'd already be dead if you did wish me harm. I'll just have to trust you with that."

"Y-you are not a biotic, then?"

"It's not that common in humans. Okay, she's good. You can turn around now, Doctor."

"H-human?" Liara said as she spun on her heel, and was greeted by the now helmet-less woman, her red hair that came down to her shoulders was tucked behind her ears and proudly on show, her skin now obviously not the blue she thought it was when she had seen her through the barrier curtain. Instead it was a slightly tanned colour. Her lips were marked with a neat diagonal scar to one side, and her cheek under her right eye held another, though horizontal this time, but just as neat. They did nothing to mar the woman's stern beauty - if anything they emphasised it. Their eyes held each others for a moment, an unspoken conversation between the two. Liara's stomach danced again, and she felt a shiver down her spine.

"Hello," said the woman, almost under her breath, her eyes never leaving the asari's. "I'm Calis– err… Commander Shepard of the Systems Alliance. Council Spectre."

"I-I did not think there were any humans in the Spectres," Liara replied, unable to tear her eyes from the woman.

"I'm a newbie. First one," she said as she raised her omni-tool and showed her ID holograph. "Only got inducted yesterday."

"Oh. W-why is a Spec–"

"Uh… Commander?" The quarian piped up from behind the woman. "We need to get out of here."

"The elevator we took, I'm assuming it goes higher?" The turian asked.

"Yes. It should get us back to the top level," Liara answered.

As they stood on the large elevator, Shepard using its control panel to get it started, Liara turned to the quarian. "I-I still cannot believe all this. Why would the geth come after me? Do you think Benezia's involved?"

"Saren's looking for the Conduit. You're a Prothean expert. He probably wants you to help him find it."

"The Conduit? But I do not know–" Liara was cut off by a deep rumble that shook the elevator.

"Aw, shit," Shepard exclaimed. "Please don't tell me we triggered a fucking earthquake." She slapped the panel and the elevator started whirring hastily upwards. "Joker, the doctor is secure. We're gonna need an evac on our location!"

Liara watched the commander pacing back and forth as the elevator flew upwards. She had no idea humans could be so attractive. She had barely even found other asari as such, at least not enough to distract her from her work. In fact, she had not even paid much mind to it, believing romance was something for the matrons when they decided to start families. Yet here this Shepard was, distracting Liara enough for her to forget her peril from before, for everything to just stop for a moment, the instant she had looked into the commander's eyes from close up.

When Shepard looked at her again as the elevator rose, Liara's heart jumped once more. The asari closed her eyes and shook her head, the fear of the situation returning to her.

* * *

Shepard's mind was racing. At first she was incredibly suspicious of the doctor, but the moment she had gazed into the asari's startlingly blue eyes from close up, she found herself willing to trust her absolutely, something she knew was dangerous. It was an internal struggle between her logic and her instinct, neither of which she remembered ever failing her. And fuck, if this Liara wasn't just the prettiest thing she had ever seen. Shepard didn't know it, but she shook her head in unison with the doctor to clear it of such thoughts. They needed to get the fuck out of this crumbling shithole.

As the elevator ground to a halt at its apex, a krogan battlemaster flanked by three geth bipedals strolled toward them, blocking the exit. Part of Shepard was annoyed by the sight, the other part revelling in the fact that she might now, finally, get to use her Mattock.

"Surrender," the krogan said. "Or don't. That would be–"

The battlemaster was interrupted by Shepard's Mattock. She normally wasn't this trigger happy, but the earthquake, along with Tali's presence, had her a little on edge. One of the geth fell to the floor from Shepard's slugs as Wrex charged the other krogan, his biotic barrier giving him an ethereal shine. Liara threw a biotic barrier up of her own as the geth fired at Shepard and her team, the commander's shield lighting up as it stopped the projectiles, allowing her to seek cover.

Tali waved her omni-tool at one of the geth, and it started firing at the other synthetic. Surprised by this, the geth turned and fired back, but it was too late for it. It took the others shield down before it fell, though, allowing Garrus to obliterate the hacked geth's 'head' with a shot from his sniper. Wrex kicked the krogan in his stomach, sending it reeling backwards. Tali overloaded the battlemaster's shields, giving Wrex the opportunity to finish him off with a blast from his shotgun.

"Fucking move!" Shepard roared. The tremors were not subsiding, but the way out was now clear.

* * *

The battle raged around Liara, just a mess of the sounds of gunfire as she lay prone on the floor, concentrating on nothing but keeping her barrier up. All too quickly, Liara thought, the firing stopped.

"Fucking move!" She heard Shepard bellow, and felt a strong arm lift her up around her waist, running while carrying Liara for a few steps before the asari found her own feet. She thought at first it had been Shepard's krogan squad-mate, but it was in actual fact Shepard herself. "Go, go!" Shepard shouted from behind as the asari felt the commander push her lower back.

Liara sprinted through the cavern with the quarian girl at her side. The turian had sprinted ahead, his long legs allowing for incredible speed. The krogan's own rapidness belied his massive frame, just as Shepard's slender frame had belied her strength, as he too bounded quickly ahead of them. The turian stopped as he reached the exit tunnel, turning and willing the others toward him.

"Garrus, get your skinny ass through that fucking door," Shepard shouted from behind Liara, still at full sprint. The turian froze for half a second, seemingly at odds with himself before he pelted through the door and up the mine shaft.

The floor disappeared beneath Liara, but before she fell even an inch, that strong arm lifted her again. She could have let Shepard carry her all the way up the mine shaft, and she probably would have gotten out quicker if she had, but she struggled out of the hold, Shepard planting her on her feet so she could run herself up the tunnel.

Finally, Liara reached the relatively cool air of the surface, and she collapsed on all fours on the gangway, her entire body ready to just shut down. She thought about letting it now that she knew she was safe, but a sound knocked those thoughts out. It was both a beautiful and terrifying sound. It made her feel happy and relieved, but at the same time it frightened her.

This Shepard woman was laughing.


	6. Jigsaw Falling into Place

**VI  
****Jigsaw Falling into Place  
**

* * *

Liara was eighty years old when the humans defeated the turians at Shanxi. She remembers the stir it caused on Thessia, the mild panic that this could be another rachni-like race, an aggressive and indomitable species that would wage war throughout the galaxy. Thankfully, the humans were far more rational than that, and they joined the Citadel species rather than fight them. Still, there was a lingering mistrust of humans, even within the asari, despite those who blamed the trigger-happy turians for humanity's violent introduction to the galactic community.

Now here Liara stood, twenty three years older, and surrounded by this new race, on this beautiful ship of theirs. Before now, she doubted she would ever have this much interaction with them in her life, possibly a naive thought given her long lifespan. She knew of the human colony on Therum, but she never visited it, nor did she pay much mind to it. In fact, she had never paid much mind to humanity as a whole. Now she was in amongst them, she couldn't get over how similar they were to the asari, especially the females. The only real difference was the colour of their skin and the hair on the tops of their heads. Her perspective had been turned upside down, and she now owed her life to them. The scientist within her was begging to be allowed access to the extranet, to finally learn all about them.

Then there was Shepard.

"You two, come with me," the commander said, gesturing toward Tali and Liara as she strode up the Normandy's cargo bay, toward the elevator.

Liara was incredibly intrigued by Shepard. She almost had to stop herself from looking at her as she, Shepard and Tali rode the elevator. At first it had been nought but a physical attraction, but the woman's strength, the way she ordered that big turian about, and her reaction to a near death experience had tipped the scales for Liara beyond the mere enjoyment of her looks. Then, after nearly being crushed by tons of rock, Shepard laughed. She didn't almost collapse like Liara, she didn't gasp for breath, she laughed. Not a manic cackle, not a scared chuckle, but a full on belly laugh, full of humour, like she had just heard a particularly good joke.

"Follow me," Shepard said as the elevator door opened and she stepped out. Still in her armour and fully equipped with weaponry, she made most of the passing human crew look small in comparison. She turned left quickly and walked through a door into a medical bay, Liara and Tali on her heels.

What happened after the commander had laughed outside the dig site was even more astounding to Liara. The quarian girl, Tali, she thought her name was, appeared to be struggling with her breathing, gasping for air. Before Liara knew it, Shepard was there, two hands on either side of the girl's helmet, whispering to her, calming her down. The quarian, who Liara believed to be quite young despite her inexperience with the nomad species, seemed to be having a panic attack, and Shepard was talking her through it, gently coaxing her breathing to a steadier pace. The care and attention Shepard paid to the quarian was quite unexpected, and admittedly endearing, especially when juxtaposed with how Liara had seen Shepard acting beforehand.

"Doctor, can you take a look at these two, please?" Shepard said. Liara thought she was talking to her but realised the commander was looking at a white-haired human female.

"Those two? I'd rather take a look at you, Commander," the human doctor replied. "Or didn't you realise you were bleeding?"

With that, Shepard looked down at her stomach, a wound near her hip was generously spilling blood down her leg.

"Huh," Shepard breathed, not wincing or looking surprised. "This armour is shit, I'm getting a new set next time we're on the Citadel. The only thing that works properly in it is the anaesthetics."

"Seems like the anaesthetics work too well if you hadn't realised you'd been shot," the human doctor retorted.

"Good point, and even more reason to get shot of it… if you'll pardon the pun." Shepard smirked.

"I-I do not understand," Liara began. "You want to feel the pain when you have been wounded?"

"Well, yeah," Shepard replied. "You need to know if you're hurt, that's the whole point of pain. Being a soldier, though, you can't let it put you off. You need to feel a sting or a pinch at least, but much more than that and you're liable to flinch at the wrong time, or be doubled up in agony or what have you."

"O-of course," Liara said, her head inclining a little, her cheeks flushing purple. She really should have known that, or at least have been able to guess. "I am sorry, I am a little… shaken up."

"Yes, well, the best medicine for 'shaken up' is to sit down for a little while," the doctor said. "Pop yourself up on a bed - you too, Tali'Zorah - and I'll have a look at you once I've patched the commander up."

Liara jumped up to sit on the nearest bed, a little clumsily, to her dismay, due to her still shaking arms and legs, though no one seemed to notice. Tali clambered onto one of the beds, lying down on it and curling up into a ball on her side and facing away from the others in the room, shivering a little. Shepard watched the quarian with a worried expression on her face.

"Come on, Shepard. Out of that armour," the doctor said.

Liara watched as the commander disarmed and disrobed. Shepard's hard-suit was all-in-one, and black and grey with hardened parts around the vital areas. A red stripe flanked by two white ones went down one arm, and two human symbols were emblazoned on the left breast, though Liara didn't know what they were. Though the armour had conformed to Shepard's shape pleasingly, it was nothing compared to seeing the commander in nought but a tight, white tank top and her rather skimpy underwear, even with a large and bloody graze on one side of her stomach.

Her muscles were well-toned, especially on her stomach, but it was an athletic toning rather than muscular, which made Liara wonder how Shepard was able to lift her so easily. Liara couldn't help but notice her pleasing curves, her wide hips and narrow waist, her modestly-sized bosom, and the fact that the faint brown dots on her face were also present on her shoulders, but could also be seen here and there on her arms and shapely, long legs.

Liara found the colour of the blood to be quite nice. Asari blood being purple meant the redness of a human's looked decidedly alien, and didn't necessarily translate into something that might sicken one at the sight of it.

The asari were a very social race, and nudity wasn't necessarily seen as much of a taboo as humans saw it, so looking at another's body or being looked at when nude wasn't particularly frowned upon. Liara, however, wasn't exactly the most socially adept asari, and hadn't realised she was staring so intently. Spotting the commander looking back at her, Liara glanced away, the purple rising in her cheeks again, her heart beating a little faster.

* * *

When Liara turned away, Shepard felt a tiny loss - she could no longer see Dr T'Soni's eyes. She hadn't noticed the asari staring at her, she had merely seen her face, not where she was looking, or how she was looking at the commander. All thought of anything else had been rent from Shepard's mind, her attention being on the asari only. She studied the woman's features; her pretty up-turned nose, her 'freckles,' the fact that her tentacle-like crest on her head should have looked grotesque but quite simply didn't. How could someone so obviously alien be so darned attractive? It didn't make any sense to Shepard.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Dr Chakwas spoke up again.

"Forgive the cliché, but it's just a scratch. Medi-gel and a bandage will do for now. There might be a scar, but you'll be fine. Just make sure you get some food and water in you soon, you lost a fair bit of blood."

With the medi-gel and bandage applied, Shepard began to dress into some BDUs, feeling ever so slightly disheartened by Liara's obvious reluctance to look at her. Shepard inwardly scolded herself, wondering what had gotten into her. Fully dressed, she strode over to stand in front of Tali and bent toward her, putting a hand on the quarian's shoulder. Tali reached out from where she lay on the bed and pulled Shepard into an awkward embrace.

"Whoa. Tali… you okay, älskling?" Shepard said, her chin now resting on the shoulder where her hand had just been. She could only look at Liara, who stared back, a worried look on her face.

"I-I was s-so scared, Shepard," Tali sobbed. "I've h-had nightmares like that."

Shepard pulled back from Tali to look into the girl's visor, just barely being able to see her eyes. "Don't worry about it. You were pretty amazing in the fight. It's fine, honestly. You should have seen me after… well, after my first real combat experience. I'm pretty sure I was worse than you."

It was strange to Shepard, trying to reassure a quarian. She didn't feel adequate enough to console her with words and wanted to touch her, to wipe a tear away maybe, but the suit was a barrier between them. Instead, she grasped the girl's hand tightly, a sympathetic smile on her face.

"Dr Chakwas will look after you. I'll come back and check on you soon."

* * *

"We've received your report, Commander. I understand Dr T'Soni is on the Normandy," Councillor Tevos said to Shepard. After sending her report of the mission on Therum to the Council, Shepard was now speaking to them through the communications hub in the comms room. It was a QEC connection, which allowed the commander to see holographic representations of the Council, and for them to see one of Shepard.

"I assume you're taking the necessary security precautions," spoke Councillor Sparatus.

"Yeah, in that I'm not taking any at all," Shepard replied.

"Are you sure that is wise?" Councillor Valern asked, the slightest hint of alarm in his voice.

"Liara's harmless. In a fight, she's about as useful as a fart in an elevator." Shepard had almost perfected making the Council stand in awkward silences.

"I very much doubt that, Shepard," Tevos said, breaking the quiet. "As Matriarch Benezia's daughter, she would have been trained by asari commandos."

"Oh, everyone's been trained by commandos, apparently," Shepard quipped, referring to Tali's similar training.

"At least the mission was a success," Valern said. It gave Shepard the impression such a thing was unexpected.

"Apart from the utter destruction of a major Prothean ruin. Was that really necessary, Shepard?" Sparatus asked.

"Oh, it's a 'major' Prothean ruin now, is it?" Shepard said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "So 'major' that a lone asari was researching it? I really don't appreciate your antagonistic tendencies, Councillor."

With that, Shepard disconnected the comms.

"Get to fuck," she said to herself with a dismissive wave of her hand as she strode out the room.

* * *

_Rent flesh… maw toothed with metal… synthetic instruments… muscle and sinew… thick gore… mutilated… agony… fire… dead everywhere… ancient evil._

The sound of her door chiming woke the commander. Lambasting herself for falling asleep, she slapped the button to open the door. Expecting Williams or Alenko, or in fact anyone else, Shepard was surprised by the sight of Liara standing in the doorway to her quarters.

"Dr T'Soni. Everything okay?"

"Yes. I hope I am not disturbing you," Liara said, timidly.

"Oh, it's… we can all do with being disturbed every now and then, I think," Shepard said, not quite sure what she meant. "Erm, did you need anything?"

"I-I just wanted to thank you for saving me, but I am still confused as to why you did," Liara said. She was holding herself like a young girl talking shyly to an adult, her hands clasped together in front of her, her head inclined a little, and only making eye contact for nanoseconds at a time.

"Yeah, sorry. I kinda fell as–" not wanting to sound unprofessional, Shepard stopped herself from being so open with the asari. "That is to say I've been a little busy. No excuse, obviously, but you know how it is. Actually, I don't suppose you do, do you?"

"I-I–" Liara stammered, but Shepard cut her off.

"No, it… it doesn't matter. My head's a little fu– uhh, messed up at the moment." Shepard didn't know why, but she didn't want to be coarse in front of Liara. "I was just… rambling."

The commander had experience with informing people of bad news… very bad news, sometimes. Loved ones' deaths being the worst. She had more experience with comforting and offering condolences to the bereaved at funerals or memorial services. This was something else, though. How do you explain to a young woman that her mother is in league with a rogue Spectre, and that together they are trying to bring about the destruction of all life in the galaxy? That because of that, her mother was as good as dead? She had no idea how the asari would react to hearing such news.

"I think you'd better sit down," Shepard said, gesturing to a chair that sat in front of the small, circular table in the middle of her room. She noticed the worry in Liara's face as the doctor sat. It seemed even the asari were familiar with the recommendation of seating being related to bad news.

"I'm not quite sure how to tell you this." Shepard said after she had taken her seat. Now it was Shepard who was reluctant to look at Liara, the doctor's concerned gaze being firmly set on the commander, and her posture straight as she anxiously wrung her hands in her lap. "Do… do you know what happened on Eden Prime a couple of days ago?"

"Yes, though not in much detail. I understand it was a geth attack," Liara said, her expression confused.

"It was. You know of Saren Arterius, right?" Liara nodded. "Saren was leading the geth, and we believe… we believe your mother is helping him."

"To… to what end?" The asari barely croaked out the words after a few seconds in what looked to Shepard as deep and saddened thought.

"They're going after something called the 'Conduit.' Do you know what that is?" Shepard asked in a gentle voice.

"N-not specifically," Liara replied, a little more clearer now, seemingly having gotten over the immediate shock of hearing of her mother's duplicity. "Only that it was somehow connected to the Prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the past fifty years trying to figure out what happened to them." Her voice was now almost back to a normal volume, and she even sounded slightly enthusiastic.

"Sorry, did you just say 'fifty years?'" Shepard asked. Liara nodded. "Doctor, how old are you exactly?"

"I-I am only one hundred and six years old," the asari answered, sounding slightly ashamed.

Shepard chuckled. "'Only.' You do realise that's three times my age, with change."

Liara smiled bashfully. It was the first time Shepard had seen her smile, and she felt the butterflies in her stomach. It was the tiniest of smiles, but it still managed to light up the doctor's face. It was then Shepard realised that Liara's face had been pale before, and Dr Chakwas' treatment had restored some of the colour in the asari's skin, making it a slightly more saturated shade of blue.

Shepard was unknowingly staring at the asari, and it was making Liara a little uncomfortable.

"I-is something the matter, Commander?"

"W-what? Oh. I was just…" Shepard quickly racked her brains. "I was just wondering… how it came to be that we look so similar. I mean our races."

"I see. I… have not been able to study it, though it does interest me," Liara began. "I do not have much experience with your species, academically or socially. I was so incredibly wrapped up in my Prothean studies that I did not pay much attention to humanity, I am afraid." Liara sat in thought for a second. "It is incredibly unlikely we are homologous."

"Homologous?" Shepard said, her eyelids narrowing. "Like common ancestry, or something like that."

"That is right. Convergent evolution is a much more likely scenario."

"You mean… we just happened to develop the same way?"

"Something like that, yes. Thessia and Earth are quite similar. Similar mass, similar gravity, similar atmospheric pressure…"

"So we developed a similar look because… it's just the best way there is to look?"

"The most functional way."

"Functional, yeah, but… I've noticed you have eyebrows and freckles."

"I have… what?" Liara asked, confused.

"Eyebrows." Shepard said, pointing to her own. "And freckles," she said, touching her cheek.

"Oh, you mean my facial markings?" Liara replied. "Yes, my 'eyebrows' can be fairly common in asari. Benezia has them, so I assume they are genetic. But my… 'freckles…' Benezia does not have them. I believe it to be a mutation."

"A beautiful mutation," Shepard blurted out before she could stop herself. She cleared her throat. "I mean, I'm obviously biased," she added, again touching her cheek.

"I… I like your 'freckles,' too, Commander."

The words triggered a silence in the room, the only communication from the stares the two women gave each other, coy grins on each of their faces.

Conversation eventually picked back up, and the pair talked for a while about various topics, mainly surrounding the differences and similarities in asari and human culture. Eventually Shepard idly looked at the time on the clock next to her bed. Nearly three hours had passed.

"Holy crap, look at the time," Shepard said, standing up. "I think we'd better call it. We can talk again, soon. Maybe we'll actually talk about the mission."

Liara giggled, the sound making Shepard feel a slight sense of comfort wave through her body.

"I enjoy speaking to you, Commander," Liara said, her eyes practically beaming with felicity.

"Call me Cal– err… call me Shepard."

"I will do that, Shepard."

After explaining to the commander where she would be sleeping - the lab at the back of the medical bay - Liara said her goodbyes and left. Shepard sat down on her bed, now alone in her room, a wide smile on her face and a feeling of contentment flowing through her. After a few seconds, her face slowly began to form a frown, and she shot up off her bed.

"Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no," she said, pacing the room, her hands wringing the hair on the sides of her head. "Oh shit, oh fuck. I like her. Why do I like her? Oh, Jesus. Oh, Lord. Oh, fuck."

Meanwhile, in the medical lab, Liara had already fallen asleep. Lying on her side on her cot, her hand tucked between her knees, she was still smiling, dreaming vague dreams of red hair and smiling green eyes.

* * *

Liara had left Shepard's room about half an hour ago, and the commander, trying to ignore her feelings for the asari doctor, now sat in the mess hall, sitting across a table from Tali. The quarian was eating her dextro-based rations, feeding the sludge into a pack on her belt which then ran up a tube and into her helmet. It looked rather awkward to Shepard but Tali seemed to be getting on fine with it.

"Isn't there any proper food we can get you?" Shepard asked, eyeing the spent rations pack on the table. Tali merely shrugged.

"This is fine, Commander," she replied in a quiet voice.

"Bullshit. You and Garrus can't live on this crap," Shepard said. "It looks like clay and smells like… well, I'm not even going to tell you what it smells like." Tali sighed. Shepard reached over the table and gripped the girl's hand lightly. "Come on, querido. You can't keep this up. I've already told you, it's normal. You've just got to get past it."

"But what if it happens again. What if–"

"You can't do this based on 'what ifs,' Tali. Neither future nor past. It's not healthy. Look… I believe in you, so trust me with that. I'm not an idiot."

"I know."

"No," Shepard said, letting go of Tali's hand and leaning back in her chair, "you're supposed to disagree with me on that point, Tal. You're supposed to call me a 'fucking moron.'"

Tali giggled softly. "How's… how's Dr T'Soni?" She said after a minute in silence.

"She's fine."

"Do you trust her?" asked Tali.

"Yes," Shepard answered, a little quicker than she meant to. "I mean… I don't know why, but… she seems… genuine, I suppose. I'm just going to trust my gut. I don't want to interrogate her or anything." Though Shepard didn't give any reason for this, subconsciously it was because she didn't want to alienate the doctor from her. "Anyway, I think she might be useful to us. She knows of the Conduit, which is a start."

"You could meld with her," Tali offered.

"Yeah… wait, what?"

"Meld. The asari can kind of… share their thoughts with each other, and other species, through touch."

"I've heard of that, but isn't it like… having sex with them?"

"I-I'm not sure. You'd have to ask her."

"Oh, no. No way. I'm not propositioning her."

"No, Shepard. Don't go barging in telling her to do it. Just ask her about it."

"No. It'd be like… asking Garrus to get his cock out."

Tali burst out laughing. "Oh, Shepard," she said, still chuckling. "You're right. You are a 'moron.'"

* * *

Liara hadn't realised how tired she was talking to Shepard, her fatigue only showing up once she had left the commander's room. Though Dr Chakwas had recommended sleep sooner rather than later, the asari wanted to thank Shepard, as well as ask a question or two. Three hours later, she dragged her legs across the mess, into the empty med bay and through to the lab. Her cot was not entirely comfortable, but in her exhausted state she could easily sleep on a jagged rock.

When she woke up a few hours later, she ignored the pang of hunger and the tightness of her muscles as she stood up, as well as the feeling of sweat-damp skin against the lab uniform she had slept in, and strode over to the terminal on the desk on the other side of the room. Her intention was to finally research the humans, find out what the word 'Normandy' meant among other things, but as soon as she saw the input box on the search engine on the extranet, her thoughts became of red hair and smiling green eyes again.

An encyclopaedic entry of Shepard caught Liara's eye.

_Lieutenant Commander Calista Marie Shepard (born April 11th, 2154) is a human officer of the Alliance Navy branch of the Systems Alliance. She is best known for being the youngest ever recipient of the Star of Terra._

_The Star of Terra is an award bestowed by the Systems Alliance, it recognizes courageous and distinguished service that is above and beyond the call of duty. Recipients of this medal are regarded as heroes of humanity. Commander Shepard was awarded the honour after helping to save the human colony of Elysium, single-handedly repelling an attack by pirates and slavers.  
_

_Shepard is also a graduate of the System Alliance's 'N7' program at the 'Interplanetary Combative Academy.'_

Liara spent an hour, first reading Shepard's entry, and then researching anything to do with Shepard; what exactly 'N7' meant, where Elysium was, news stories on what had happened there, but most of it was vague at best. No real descriptions of the woman, mostly just the commander's achievements. There were a few interviews she had given, though they were not about Shepard herself, rather events going on in the galaxy at the time, and even then she wasn't very forthcoming with information. There were one or two fansites for the commander as well, but again they were mostly about her accomplishments, written by one or two people at most - a cult following.

Eventually Liara found a picture of Shepard looking stately in a handsome blue uniform, a banner of the Systems Alliance behind her and a medal draped around her neck. Liara presumed it was the Star of Terra, but it wasn't really Liara's focus. She spent a few minutes merely staring at the picture, taking in the face of the younger Shepard. Her hair was shorter and a slightly lighter shade of red than it was currently, her 'freckles' a shade or two darker. Both combined, they gave her a youthful look. She wasn't smiling, though, and her eyes told a tale of hardship, of pain both physical and mental. It might have pained Liara to see it, were it not that it seemed the Shepard of the present had gotten past it. The doctor wished she could have been there for Shepard, then disparaged the thought. What would she have been able to do for her? Talk about the antiquities of a dead species?

That was all Liara needed to make her doubt herself.

She sighed heavily, a mixture of emotions battling with each other inside her. She had a tenebrous feeling that Shepard was attracted to her, but that was cast away. Why would she? To the commander Liara was female. Human females would surely not be interested. _Why not? Homosexuality is prevalent in most bi-gendered species_. Even so, Liara was an asari, how could one species find another attractive? _Asari relationships with other races is not just commonplace, but encouraged! Besides, you feel an attraction to her. Why would she not feel an attraction to you?_

_Because… I am Liara T'Soni.  
_

* * *

Despite Shepard's hesitance with the subject of melding, Tali had given her an idea. If the asari _could_ share thoughts with others, then maybe Liara could help her out with the vision from the beacon. It was still jumbled up and garbled, and she had the sense that it still pervaded her dreams, seeing as the recollection of the vision was far more vivid after sleep. But even then, Liara was a supposed Prothean expert, she might be able to clear up a few things about these Reapers. Perhaps she'd heard of them before, might be able to provide proper evidence. Above all else, Shepard needed to know she wasn't going mad in believing that the Reapers were real.

"Has, uh… has Dr T'Soni made an appearance recently?" Shepard asked Dr Chakwas in the med bay.

"I think she's still asleep, Commander. She was exhausted, the poor thing. She told me she was stuck in that stasis bubble for well over twenty four hours."

Guilt struck Shepard a little unexpectedly. While Liara was stuck in that bubble, the commander had announced shore leave. Liara was lucky Shepard only chose one night for it - much longer and she may have been lost, either to Saren or to starvation.

"Has she had anything to eat since she came aboard?" Shepard asked.

"She's had fluids and some nutrient rich pills and the like. Why?"

"Oh, no reason," Shepard said as she turned to exit the med bay.

Roughly twenty minutes later Shepard returned, carrying a tray of food. She nodded to a curious Dr Chakwas as she passed her, and knocked on the door to the med bay's lab.

* * *

Liara had never been in a relationship before, never even kissed anyone beyond chaste pecks from friends and family. She wondered how on Thessia she would ever be a suitable partner for someone such as Shepard.

An intense pang of hunger knocked her out of her self-deprecation, and she pushed herself away from the terminal. She stood in the lab, looking at the door and holding her stomach. It had taken all her willpower to exit the med bay last night and seek Shepard out, to ask the lone human man sat at the table in the mess where the commander was. Now all she wanted to do was leave the room again and find some food, but it seemed impossible to her. She actually wanted to take something from these people.

However, her problem was replaced with another as the door made a knocking noise, like someone was hitting it. She took a step back, and a voice rang out from the other side of the door.

"Dr T'Soni? Are you up?" It was clearly Shepard.

"I-I am, yes." Liara answered.

"Are you decent?"

"Y-yes."

"I'll come back later then, shall I?"

"A-all right," Liara said, confused.

"That was a joke," Shepard replied. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke up again. "Can I come in?"

"Oh! Yes, of course."

The door opened revealing Shepard, laden with a tray of food the likes of which Liara had never seen.

"If you're up for it, I thought it'd be a good idea for a proper debriefing with some lunch, then… uh… I suppose we'll be dropping you off somewhere." The thought stirred a little feeling of loss in Shepard. "Somewhere safe, obviously."

"Th-thank you," Liara said, feeling a little sad at the thought herself.

"The food's just something light - bit of bacon and some eggs. Got some chocolate muffins, too," Shepard said as she set the tray down next to the terminal. She noticed the picture of herself on the monitor. "Doing some research, were you?"

"Goddess, I… yes, but… oh, Goddess."

Shepard chuckled at the flustered asari, noticing how cute she looked when she was blushing, then scolding herself for thinking of the word 'cute.'

"It's all right, I've got a dossier on you. I suppose it's only fair," Shepard said as she handed Liara a plate of bacon and eggs.

"You have a dossier? On me?"

"Yeah, there's not much in it, though," Shepard said as she sat down on Liara's cot with her own plate on her lap. It wasn't intentional, but her words made Liara feel a little inadequate. There was probably not much in it because there was not much to say about her, the asari thought. "It mentioned your writings on the Protheans, and you said you had theories on their disappearance."

"I… yes, but I have garnered nothing but derision for them. Being one hundred and six years old, I am seen as little more than a child to my people," Liara said as she copied Shepard, sitting in the chair in front of the terminal with the plate on her lap, facing the commander.

"That seems to be a theme with some aliens," Shepard said, then took a bite from a strip of bacon.

"What do you mean?" Liara asked, watching Shepard eat and then looking down at her own plate of alien food.

"Well, Tali, the quarian girl we have on board, she's only a little 'un. Except the quarians seem to want to make their children grow up quickly. From what you're saying, the asari appear to want to keep you young. It should be the other way around, really, if anything."

"I see. You… you mentioned I was three times your age. How old are you? Are you still a child?" Liara asked in all seriousness, then nibbled on a bit of the crispy meat Shepard had given her.

Shepard laughed. "Only on the inside. No, I turned twenty nine about two months back. That's well into adulthood among humans."

"That… that is astounding. A twenty nine year-old asari would normally be barely half your size."

Shepard laughed again. "Well, I was always a fast grower. I was taller than my mother by the time I was fifteen. Always figured it was something to do with the gravity on ships, but that's probably stupid."

"Gravity on ships? I do not understand."

"Oh, I've lived on ships all my life. My parents were both in the Alliance. I was a real 'Navy Brat.'"

"And you followed your parents wishes to join the Alliance?"

"Kind of. My father always wanted me to join the military. He was very strict with me, even from a young age. My mother was the polar opposite, only wanted what I wanted. She thought I'd become a ship designer or an engineer, but… my dad's influence was already there. I take after my mother in who I am, but after my father in what I do."

Liara sat in thought for a while, eating her food, trying not to appear too ravenous to Shepard, despite the food being incredibly enjoyable. "Being the daughter of a Matriarch, a lot was expected of me, but I shied away from the pressure, and became an archaeologist."

"Because you love archaeology?"

"Yes."

"There's nothing wrong with that. It's commendable. You want to push towards the things that make you happy in life, and that's what you civvies should do. Let us soldiers do the horrible things."

"You are not happy with what you do?"

"I'm lucky… in a way. I love this, journeying through the galaxy, letting people like you live the way they want without fear, without death looming over them."

"You make it sound so heroic."

"It can be, but it's mostly boring. Eden Prime was just a–" Shepard went silent for a moment, staring at her empty plate. "Listen, this might just blow your mind or something, but there was a Prothean beacon on Eden Prime." Liara eyes lit up. "That's why we were there, to retrieve it, but Saren got there first. We managed to secure the beacon though, and I unintentionally… used it."

Liara's face looked almost shocked, but she stayed silent, letting the commander speak.

"It… listen, as far as I'm concerned this is top secret, only me and the Alliance brass know. The Council doesn't know, and neither does anyone on this ship, for that matter. So keep this to yourself, okay?" Liara nodded enthusiastically, willing the commander to tell her what happened. "The beacon burned a vision into my mind. It has something to do with the Prothean's extinction. I think it's a warning."

Liara's attention was rapt. "I… Shepard, this…"

"The Reapers, that's what the Protheans called them. They were a race of sentient machines, and they killed them all," Shepard continued. "It's a warning, the vision. Saren, for whatever reason, wants to bring them back, and the Conduit is the key."

Liara's eyes darted about as if she were reading, her brow furrowed. "This… all makes sense," she said, placing her plate on the desk and standing up. "There is very little evidence on the Protheans, even of their existence, let alone their extinction," the asari said, pacing the room. "It is as though someone did not want the mystery of their disappearance solved, like someone came along after the Protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues.

"Shepard," Liara continued, her pacing now stopped as she looked at the commander, "according to my findings, the Protheans were not the first galactic civilisation to mysteriously vanish. This 'cycle' began long before them and has repeated itself many times over. The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction - each time a great civilisation rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins, like the ones on Therum, survive.

"Not only that but I have heard rumours of beacons that transmit information directly into the minds of the user. It would seem they are designed for Prothean physiology, and have killed anyone who has used them. Tales of dead bodies surrounding destroyed Prothean beacons are told in hushed tones among archaeologists, but it is considered myth, a story of warning among colleagues."

"So, do you want to see the vision?" Shepard asked, rather timidly. "Maybe two minds will be able to make more sense of it."

"I… of course, the meld!" Liara almost looked genuinely excited at the prospect. "A-are you sure, Shepard?"

"Not really. I don't know much about it, to be honest. I heard it's… well, I've heard things."

"Melding is not the same as joining. There is nothing… sexual about it. I know there are some strange beliefs about my people. I am aware of the legends of asari promiscuity, but those rumours have little basis in fact. This would not be us consummating, it would be more like… having a conversation, sharing thoughts on an internal level."

"All right, then. We might as well try. What do you need me to do?" Shepard asked, standing up off the cot.

Liara took a step toward the commander, and outstretched her arms. "Take my hands, Shepard."

The two stood for a few seconds, standing quite close to one another, hands grasped. Liara's eyes were closed, and Shepard stared at her face, taking in her features from incredibly close up.

"Relax," Liara said, as much to herself as to Shepard, "and embrace eternity!"

Liara opened her eyes, sky blue replaced with deepest black. Before Shepard could react to it, her own eyesight left her, replaced with the vision from the Prothean beacon. It replayed in her head once more; the gore, the mutilation, the destruction, the death.

Then there was nothingness, no sight, and only the faint, distant and fading sound of someone crying out for help.


End file.
